By NANCY C
CARVAJAL
MANILA:
Investigators are puzzling out some things that have been found on 13 people
killed in a supposed shootout with police and soldiers in Atimonan, Quezon
province, on Jan 6.
For instance,
coin purses filled with pebbles were found in each of 11 of the 13 victims.
Were those the
“tokens” reportedly given by small-scale gold miner Ronnie “Enor” Habitan to
the companions of his friends Victor “Vic” Siman and Supt Alfredo Consemino
before they left after a visit with him at his house in Jose Panganiban, CamNorte,
that Sunday, Jan 6?
If those were the
tokens, what did Habitan’s gesture mean?
Or is it possible
that the purses really contained gold nuggets, but policemen took and replaced
them with pebbles after the supposed shootout?
It looks like
Supt Hansel Marantan’s police team that figured in the supposed shootout has a
lot to explain to investigators besides how did an operation to get an alleged
illegal gambling lord turn into a bloodbath.
An inventory of
the slain men’s belongings failed to turn up the P5 million Habatin reportedly
gave to Siman.
But the question
of the missing P5 million has now been answered, with Habitan’s statement to
the Inquirer on Saturday denying the report
he gave Siman money on Jan 6 for the bond for a new contract to provide
security services to Greenfield Estates in Laguna.
Business partners
Habitan and Siman were business partners in New Marc Security Agency,
which won a service contract from Greenfields Estate.
Siman, Habitan’s vice president in the security agency, submitted a
budget proposal of P4.6 million for January to March this year.
Habitan told
Siman that he would have his lawyer review the budget proposal and promised to
bring the money to Laguna after the approval of the proposal.
“I did not give
them money,” Habitan said, putting to rest speculations about the missing P5
million.
In speaking about
his friendship with Siman, Habitan mentioned that he gave him a gold lighter
that he himself crafted.
The lighter was
worth P500,000.
Earlier reports
had Habitan giving the same kind of lighter to Consemino, general manager of
the security agency, and “tokens” to the 11 men in Siman’s group before his
guests left after having lunch with him on Jan. 6.
Habitan did not
say what those tokens were, but since the “high-grade” miner gives gold away to
friends, it is possible that the tokens were nuggets of gold.
Only 12 visitors
Habitan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer something else: he had only
12 guests, including Siman.
He said he was sure there were only 12 because he shook hands with each
of them as they were leaving.
So why is the body count in Atimonan 13?
Is it possible
there was another collateral damage and the body was thrown in with the rest?
Money was found
among the belongings of the dead in the two sports utility vehicles in Siman’s
group.
It was P250,000,
found in a plastic LBC envelope that police said belonged to Siman.
The police
inventory, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer, showed that P18,000
was found on environmentalist Tirso Lontok Jr.
Little money
The rest of the victims had very little money on them.
Leonardo
Marasign, the driver of the second vehicle, had only P27 in his wallet; Conrad
Decillo, the driver of the lead vehicle, had P150; Consemino, P350 in his wallet and another P500, found in
a small, red Chinese envelope.
Victorino Atienza
had P400; Gerry Siman, P600; S/Sgt. Armando Lescano, P400; PO1 Jeffrey Valdez,
P100; SPO1 Gruet Mantuano, P270; and Maximo Pelayo, P2,050.
Found among the
belongings of Pelayo was a brown wallet that belonged to one Victor Gonzales
Garcia. The wallet contained P150.
The
inventory includes the belongings of
real estate broker Paul Quiohilag and Jimbeam Justiniani, who, according to
police records, were taken to hospital but died on the way there.
Employees at Doña
Marta Memorial District Hospital in Atimonan said men in civvies brought in the
two victims.
Hospital records
showed the victims were brought in at 4 p.m., 40 minutes after the supposed
clash at the checkpoint at Barangay Lumutan in Atimonan.
The records also
showed that Justiniani had been shot in the head, neck, chest, abdomen and arm.
Close range
Quiohilag had been hit in the temple, neck, left chest and stomach. The
records showed his left arm was fractured.
A source at the
National Bureau of Investigation’s Death Investigation Division said a second
autopsy showed that Quiohilag was shot at close range. - Inquirer
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