BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A fugitive, with pending arrest warrant for murder, died Friday night during an armed confrontation with policemen in Purok Santa Rita, Brgy. Dulao, Bago City, Negros Occidental.
Killed during a joint operation of the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group, Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, and Bago City Police Station was Emmanuel Sampani, 51, formerly of Sitio Mabiya, Brgy. Malaya, Pililla town in Rizal province. He had a pending arrest warrant issued by Judge Alejandro Marquez of RTC Branch 79 of Morong, Rizal.
Initial police investigations showed that Sampani, who was riding a Honda motorcycle, noticed that he was being tailed by authorities, prompting him to disembark and seek refuge under a mahogany tree, and then opened fire at pursuing policemen.
A brief exchange of shots led to the death of Sampani, the police said.
Recovered by members of the SOCO team, that processed the crime scene, were a .45 Colt caliber pistol with a magazine containing six live ammunition, a 9mm Armscor pistol with a magazine containing eight ammunition, a .38 caliber revolver with six ammunition, a cellular phone, assorted identification cards and receipts, P1,500 in cash, a Cignus two-portable radio, and a black Honda Beat motorcycle with plate number 0691658.
The cadaver was subjected to a paraffin test and autopsy at a funeral parlor in Bago City, while the recovered firearms are now in the custody of the PNP Crime Laboratory.
In a statement Saturday, Philippine National Police chief, Gen. Debold Sinas, said Sampani was a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) Narciso Antaso Aramil Command operating in Rizal Province. He was transferred to Quezon province to evade arrest when the court issued an arrest order against him.
However, he was banished by the CPP-NPA for a sexual offense against a female comrade, the PNA reported.
He had since returned to Negros Occidental where he linked up with a gun-for-hire group and engaged in hit jobs, gun-running, and land grabbing activities, the police said.
WOMAN SHOT DEAD
Meanwhile, a 24-year-old woman was declared dead on arrival at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City, after she was shot by a still unidentified gunman at Lopez Subdivision in Brgy. 3, Victorias City, also on Friday night.
The victim, identified by the Victorias City police as Maribeth Solatorio, succumbed to a gunshot wound in the stomach.
Investigations of the Victorias police showed that the victim was awakened by the father of her live-in partner, Francisco Solleza, who told her that somebody was looking for her.
When she went out of the house, she was shot by an unidentified gunman, who immediately fled after the incident. Police recovered a fired cartridge of a .45 caliber pistol at the crime scene.*
