Hired guns killed, arrested in Lucao former body guards of Indian trader

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY – The suspected hired killers who recently have an armed encounter in Barangay Lucao here with the police used to be body guards of  slain controversial  big time Filipino/Indian money lender Rajah Mirchandani.

SUSPECTED TRIGGER MAN Arthur Ablao posed for a mug shot at the
Dagupan City's Police Station. He was arrested after his group tangled into an
 armed encounter with another rival group runs by the Padilla Gang. Confiscated
from him was an M-16 Armalite rifle and .45 caliber pistol.

According to Superintendent Christopher Abrahano, chief of police here, the groups of Eduard Velasco Diaz and Rudy Padilla, Jr. used to be the body guards and gofer of Michandi who was slain in a gruesome ambushed in Barangay Bolosan here in August  last year.

The spot reports of the Philippine National Police said that Diaz died in an armed encounter with the former.

But before the killing of Diaz, his group had a fire fight earlier with the group of Rudy Padilla, Sr. 68, Rudy Padilla Jr., 33, and Reynante V. Soriano, 37, at a fishpond in Sitio Tocok, Barangay Lucao here when the Padillas and Soriano were harvesting their bangus fingerlings.

One of the Padillas according to the report exchanged fire with them by using his license 9 mm pistol that resulted for the withdrawal of the latter.

The incident ensued at 12:45 Pm of January 20.

Recovered on the crime sites were 24 spent shells for caliber 5.56 and three live bullets for the same gun,  and three spent shells for caliber 9mm, and one spent shell for caliber .45.

As the Diaz group absconded, they were seen by pursuing policemen assigned at the nearby Centrum Gasoline Station in the same barangay. Although the two escaped after they crisscrosses the houses and shanties there, Arthur Ablao was found hiding and lying in a bathroom by covering himself with blanket.

During police interrogation, Ablao incriminated Edward Diaz, Ricky Diaz Velasco, Jimmy Arellano Anona and a John Doe – the driver of a tricycle - as part of the conspiracy to murder the Padillas.

Confiscated from Ablao were an M-16 Armalite rifle and .45 caliber hand gun with bullets inside.

When this city’s police led by Abrahano, the provincial intelligence office led by Supt. Rod Castro,and those from the provincial police office located the hideout of Diaz group in a sitio in the same village they found Diaz, Velasco, and Anona just finished sniffing shabu (illegal drugs) as evidenced by the drugs’ paraphernalia and were imbibing liqueur.

Upon sensing the income lawmen Diaz, the report said, fired at them.

“One of the suspects Eduard Diaz was able to see them and immediately fired his firearm towards them prompting the police officers to retaliate that later resulted to his neutralization,” report said.

Diaz died in the hospital from three bullet shots wounds from a 9mm pistol.

A police source, who asked anonymity, showed media men the text messages from the three cellular phones seized from them.

GUNS AND AMMOS. Recovered form the crime scene were one (1) gauge Armscor

shotgun with serial number 1219990 loaded with five (5) live ammunition of shotgun;

One (1) caliber 9mm Lugger with markings Inter Dynamic Miami FL Model KG-9 with
serial number 837142 loaded with one magazine containing eight (8) lives ammos; one piece
 Bandoleer forArmalite Magazines (20 rounds) and one piece of Big M-16 magazine
(30 rounds); Two emptyshells of cal 9 mm and one piece of empty shell of cal 5.56mm.

Excerpt of the conversation between Diaz and Velasco.

“You did not hit them,” Diaz said.

“I was the one who fired first, it was a burst but we did not hit them,” Velasco retorted

“The text message sent by Diaz to Anona says” We have started it already we have to make it good the next time, “he said.
All the text messages were in Pangasinan's dialect.

The Padillas, according to the source, are not “saint”, they are also police characters. Two of the brothers of Rudy Padilla Jr. have been involved in shooting and stabbing incidents in Barangays Tapuac and Pantal.

“Padilla Jr. even threatened to harm the police,” the source said.

He said the deceased Edward Diaz is the younger brother of Esmael “Maing” Diaz the one who shot and killed this city’s former councilor Emilio Quinto, Jr. in the middle of 1990s. Quinto was suspected by the Diazes to orchestrate the assassination of their father who was an alleged hired gun here.

The father of the Diazes and the mother of Quinto were rivals in the election of the village chairmanship in Lucao.

Maeng is presently serving his prison term of murder at the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa.

SLAIN SUSPECTED GROUP LEADER Eduard Velasco Diaz lies after he was killed
in an armed encounter with the police around 8:30 Pm of January 20. His group had a
firefights with the Padilla Group at 2:30 Pm of the same day.

Submachine Gun below is the KG-9. Police and gun enthusiasts called
it as "Saturday Special". It is a play of words from the TV series with
the same title. "In Las Vegas, when casino bettors lost their
shirts, they go out and buy this cheap priced piece. Then they
rove and look for their prey where they can rob and play at
the casino again," a police brass quipped.

Members of the Special Weapons and Tactics  of Dagupan
joined other  police groups in neutralizing the Diaz's group.