Victim's son in bus slay a 'person of interest' - police

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is now looking at the son of the female victim in the viral bus shooting video as a possible person of interest.

According to Police Colonel Jean Fajardo, chief of the PNP Public Information Office, the female victim filed a carnapping charge against her son, who later posted bail.

“Medyo malalim po yung naging alitan ng mag-ina maliban po dito sa alleged na pagfa-file ng kaso ng carnapping, but I'm not at liberty to discuss the other details para di po macompromise yung ongoing investigation,” Fajardo said on Thursday.

(There’s a deeply-rooted conflict between the mother and son aside from the alleged filing of carnapping, but I’m not at liberty to discuss the other details so that the ongoing investigation will not be compromised,)

The police official identified the victims as a 60-year old female from Cauayan, Isabela and a 55-year old male from South Cotabato.

The two victims were reportedly live-in partners and are businesspeople.

“In the spirit of transparency, [ang anak] po yung tinitignan natin na isa sa mga posibleng may kinalaman although nakausap na din po ng mga imbestigador yung anak at sinasabing wala siyang kinalaman. But hindi po tayo magi-stop doon. Umaasa po tayo doon sa ibang mga ebidensya na makukuha natin that would lead to the identification of the two suspects and, of course, the mastermind behind this killing,” said Fajardo.

(In the spirit of transparency, we are looking at the [the son] as one of the possible people involved although investigators have already talked to him and he denied any involvement. But we will not stop there, we’re hoping on the other evidence that we may get that would lead to the identification of the two suspects and, of course, the mastermind behind this killing,)

Police also reported that the female victim figured in an argument before boarding the bus.

Members of her family said the victim had been receiving death threats.

Meanwhile, investigators will be retracing the route of the Victory Liner bus as they look into the possibility that an informant was one of the passengers.

“Ang pagpunta [ng mga biktima] sa Tarlac ay naka schedule. Tinitignan yung possibility na may nagbigay ng information na sila ay bibiyahe ng araw na yun para abangan lamang sila sa kanilang dadaanan. Titignan yung mga dinaanan ng bus baka sakali makakuha tayo ng mas malinaw na deskripsyon ng suspect kasi po wala naman pong face mask yung mga suspek,” she said.

(The victims’ trip to Tarlac was scheduled. We’re looking at the possibility that someone tipped the suspects they would be traveling that day so they could wait for them on the road. We’re checking the route the bus took, we might get a clearer description of the suspects because they didn’t wear face masks.)

“The fact na inabangan lamang doon sa Nueva Vizcaya yung mga biktima natin, there is a possibility na alam ng mga suspects yung movement ng ating mga biktima at alam na sumakay sila sa particular bus po na yun,” she added.

(The fact that they were waiting for the victims in Nueva Vizcaya, there is a possibility the suspects knew about the victims’ movements and knew they were passengers in that particular bus,)

According to a "24 Oras" report by Chino Gaston, police believe the suspects are possible guns-for-hire and are following leads provided by witnesses who allegedly saw the suspects casually leave the area after the incident.

“Bumaba itong mga suspect, tinraverse po nila itong ilog diyan sa Barangay Minuli, and then may witnesses po na nag-aallege nakitang umakyat sa mountainous part [of the area],” said Carranglan Police Station Chief Police Major Rey Ian Agliam.

(These suspects got off the bus, traversed the river near Barangay Minuli, and witnesses claim they saw the two men climb up the mountainous part [of the area],)

A cross-matching of the CCTV footage of the incident will also be conducted against existing shooting videos to find an identifying match to the gunmen.

“Malaking bagay po yung nakuha nating CCTV footage dahil yung kanilang manner they executed, yung pagbaril, yung kanilang pagtayo, yung paggamit ng baril, ay lahat po yan ay ikukumpara natin sa ibang mga recorded shooting incidents natin that would lead to the possible identification ng mga suspects po natin which we’re confident na magkaroon ng positibong resulta po,” she said.

(It’s a big break that we have CCTV footage. The video will show us the manner they executed the crime, their stance, how they handled their firearms, all of these will be compared to other recorded shooting incidents and could lead to the possible identification of the suspects. We’re confident of obtaining positive results.) — RF, GMA Integrated News