Report: Soldier in 2009 shooting spree killed in Iloilo

A former member of the Army's Special Forces linked to the killing of three of his superiors in Taguig City in 2009 was killed in a firefight in Iloilo province Friday. Former Sgt. Elias Tial opened fire at soldiers and policemen negotiating for his surrender in Lanag village in his hometown of Tigbauan in Iloilo, a report on news site Visayan Daily Star posted Saturday. Tial was facing murder and attempted murder charges for the death of 1Lt. Gerard Fuentes, Capt. Dionico Aragon Jr. and M/Sgt. Eliseo de la Paz at Fort Bonifacio on Feb. 25, 2009 at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City. Wounded in the 2009 incident was Tial's commanding officer Capt. Benito Ramos Jr., son of National Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council head Benito Ramos. Tigbauan police head Inspector Abner Jordan said Tial succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds. Recovered from Tial was a cal-.45 pistol with a magazine containing three live ammunition, an improvised pouch, and gun holster, and an empty magazine. Jordan added Tial was also linked to the fatal shooting of a 77-year-old woman, Perpetua Aliparo, who was an “albularyo (local doctor)" in June this year. Capt. Reylan Java, 3rd Infantry Division spokesman, said Tial did not appear to want to surrender since he could not post bail in the cases against him. — LBG, GMA News