Hacksaw believed used in cutting off cop’s body found
A HACKSAW believed to have been used in cutting off the body of a policeman by his killers inside the National Capital Region Police Office headquarters has been found and is being subjected to a forensic investigation.
Philippine National Police spokesperson, Brigadier General Jean S. Fajardo said the weapon was discovered inside the temporary stockroom of the Married Officers’ Quarters or MOQ of the principal suspects, Lieutenant Colonel Rhoderick Pascua and his wife with the rank of Police Executive Master Sergeant.
The official said that an autopsy also showed that victim PEMS Emmanuel de Asis died of both gunshot and stab wounds. The cop was shot in the head and neck and suffered multiple stab wounds in the body.
Brig. Gen. Fajardo said that investigators from the Southern Police District and Taguig City Police Station have been meeting regularly to discuss the progress of the investigation with the victim’s family led by the latter’s son who also happened to be a police officer.
Brig. Gen. Fajardo said that PNP chief, General Rommel Francisco D. Marbil has ordered a thorough investigation into the case amid findings that none of the couple’s neighbors heard a gunshot at the time the reported shooting incident happened.
“It would be highly impossible for everyone na hindi makakarinig ng putok dahil magkakatabi ang bahay. That’s why the PNP chief wants a full investigation into the matter,” she said.
Apart from the recovered hacksaw which has been subjected to a forensic test to determine if it contained the DNA and bloodstains of the victim, investigators have also conducted the same at the couple’s quarters in order to establish if the crime was really committed there.
Experts said the bloodstains found at the crime scene, although cleaned and washed thoroughly, can still be established with the help of a solution being used by the PNP Forensic Group.
The PNP is also looking into the claim of Lt. Col. Pascua that he shot the victim although the latter was also found to have suffered multiple stab wounds.
“This will somehow tell a different story and according to the chief of police, they have to go back to the drawing board to reenact and revisit the crime scene,” Brig. Gen. Fajardo said.
“We want to assure the family we will dig deeper in this case. We will get to the bottom of this and this won’t be tolerated by the PNP,” she said.
