PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief, General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. has ordered the Police Regional Office 2 (PRO2) to thoroughly investigate the killing of a policeman and a barangay chairman following separate gun attacks in the region.

The top cop said he has instructed PRO2 director, Brigadier Gen. Steve B. Ludan to ensure that his men will give priority to solving the murder of Police Senior Master Sergeant Aldwin Aspacio James and village chief Roberto de Ocampo.

Initial investigation showed PSMS James, a 43-year old Field Training Officer residing in Government Center Subdivision in Baguio City was killed by two still unidentified gunmen outside his boarding house along Manalansan Street in Purok 3, Barangay Homestead in Bambang, Nueva Viscaya around 7:59 p.m. last Saturday.

Local police said the victim had just arrived in the area when he was shot six times without any provocation by the suspects. The assassins fled towards the bypass road ot the municipality, witnesses said.

The victim was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Nueva Viscaya Provincial Hospital.

De Ocampo, the 50-year old chairman of Bgy. Anurturu in Rizal, Cagayan was shot to death by still unidentified gunmen in Bgy. Gumarueng in Piat, Cagayan around 3 p.m. last August 10.

Brig. Gen. Ludan said a Special Investigation Task Group has been created to investigate the killing of the barangay official.

Initial investigation showed the victim was driving his vehicle when attacked. His wife suffered minor injuries as a result of the attack.

Police said that after being hit in the different parts of the body, the barangay captain continued driving along the national highway until he lost consciousness and crashed his vehicle into a rice field.

Responding policemen took him to the Tuao District Hospital where an attending physician declared him dead upon arrival.

Brig. Gen. Ludan said that six spent caliber .45 casings and four deformed bullets recovered at the scene of the attack have been submitted to the Regional Forensic Group for a ballistics examination.

“We want to find out if the spent casings will match with similar pieces of evidence recovered from previous shooting incidents in Cagayan,” the PRO2 director said.

Brig. Gen. Ludan said that the local police immediately launched a dragnet operation to arrest the suspects with the help of other security forces in the province. The Cagayan Police Provincial Office is also reviewing footages from at least seven CCTV surveillance systems which could help them identify the assassins.

The official said that the SITG de Ocampo was informed by de Ocampo’s wife that sometime in 2015, they were visited by a group of New People’s Army rebels who forcibly took her husband’s caliber .45 pistol.

In 2018, the same rebel group again visited the de Ocampo residence but left when they discovered that the victim was not around. De Ocampo’s widow said that her husband has not received any death threats before.

“Rest assured that the PNP shall act swiftly so that justice will be served. We are also appealing to the community and anyone who have information regarding the identities of the suspects to please coordinate with the local police, said Gen. Azurin.