By Marilyn Galang | Philippine News Agency
CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – A special investigation task group (SITG) was created to dig into the recent killing of a village chief in Jaen town, this province, a top-ranking police official said on Monday (Nov. 8).
Nueva Ecija police director Col. Rhoderick Campo said he requested the creation of SITG De Belen to reinforce the municipal police station’s effort in solving the killing of barangay chairman Zoilo de Belen last Friday (Nov. 5).
“Kailangang magtulung-tulong sa imbestigasyon (We need to help each other in the investigation),” Campo said in an interview.
Aside from closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footages that caught a black sedan without a license plate, police are also looking for dashcam videos of vehicles that passed through the area before and during the incident, he said.
Campo believed that the killers conducted surveillance on de Belen before the killing.
The assassins might have patterned the victim’s routine of watering plants along Lambakin Street every morning, he said.
“The videos will be submitted to the police’s cybercrime division for enhancement,” he added.
Campo said it is too early to say that the killing was politically motivated, adding that they are looking into various angles.
Jaen is a perennial area of immediate concern or a “hot spot” during elections. (PNA) – bny
