PNP: NBI joins probe of QC shootings

On the Philippine National Police's request, the National Bureau of Investigation is joining the probe into the ambush-killing of a woman in Quezon City last week. PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said Tuesday the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group is also probing the killings. "Ang dalawang sunod na pangyayari involving kababaihan yan, tinututukan hindi lang ng QCPD. Maging CIDG at kasama sa NBI ay napakiusapan na rin para mabigyan ng resources in terms of investigators and effort ng NBI nang sa ganoon sa lalong madaling panahon magkaroon ng linaw kung sino ang may kagagawan nito at mahuli sila, bigyan ng hustisya ang mga biktima," Cruz said in an interview on dzRH radio. (Both shooting incidents involved women victims. It is not only the Quezon City police that is looking into it. So is the CIDG. And we have asked our colleagues in the NBI to lend resources in terms of investigators and efforts so we can catch the perpetrators and bring justice to the victims' kin.) The two women victims of separate violent shooting incidents in Quezon City last week were laid to rest Sunday, amid calls by their relatives for justice. Sheryl Sarmiento was buried at Himlayang Pilipino in Quezon City while Teresita Teaño was buried at Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City. Last June 14, heavily armed men wearing black masks and jackets shot dead Sarmiento in a daring ambush near a mall in Quezon City. Police said they are looking into the possibility the incident may be a case of mistaken identity. On the other hand, police have produced sketches of at least two of three suspects who shot dead Teaño and took her Hyundai Accent car in Quezon City last June 15. 'Mistaken identity' In Sarmiento's case, Cruz said they are following leads that her killers may have mistaken her for their real target, supposedly a police officer. A television news report on "24 Oras" Monday night had quoted police investigators as saying that the killers may have mistaken the license plate of Sarmiento's car with that of their target. "Tinitingnan ang angulong ito. Isa pa, ang mga taong gumawa nito ay maaring isang malaking grupo. Talagang malakas ang baril na dala nila at marami silang pinaputok (We are looking into this angle. And we note the perpetrators may be part of a large syndicate because they used high-powered firearms and strafed the victim's car)," Cruz said. No 'sanctions' for QCPD chief yet Meanwhile, Cruz said there are no sanctions against QCPD head Chief Superintendent George Regis for the two shootings, at least for now. But he said the PNP is looking at how Regis is handling the incidents. "Tinitingnan natin ang knayang magiging effort sa mga nangyayaring krimen sa QC ... Bigyan lang ng kaunting panahon (We are looking at his efforts on the cases. Let's give him some more time)," he said. — RSJ, GMA News