Police still checking background of 3 men killed in shootout
Police are still determining the background of three armed men who were killed in an alleged shootout with intelligence operatives at a gasoline station in Iloilo City Wednesday night.
Senior Supt. Bartolome Tobias, acting Iloilo City police chief, said they are checking the background of the armed men who died at the Shell gasoline station and if they have criminal records.
No one has claimed the men's remains at the Somo Funeral Homes as of 2 p.m. yesterday, according to Tobias.
Police intelligence operatives shot dead the three armed men at the gasoline station in what police said was a "chance encounter" with suspected criminal elements.
Tobias said the shootout occurred around 11 p.m. at a Shell gasoline station in the corner of Jalandoni and Delgado streets after members of the Philippine National Police Regional Intelligence Office met by chance the three armed men.
Six intelligence agents in plainclothes and on board two vehicles led by Supt. Samuel Nacion, RIO chief, were about to gas up when they heard a gunshot from the three men.
The shootout erupted after the three men fired at the policemen who accosted them, according to Tobias in a telephone interview.
Three employees of the gasoline station scampered for cover after the armed men sought cover behind a vehicle parked near the station's coffee shop.
The three armed men died from multiple gunshot wounds after the alleged shootout that lasted for around 10 minutes. Found in their possession were a homemade .38 caliber pistol, a .380 caliber pistol a hand grenade, and ammunition.
Based on identification cards found on the fatalities, the armed men were identified as Samuel Cioco, Gerald Emaas, both of Masbate and Hino Balacutan of Roxas City in Capiz. Emaas carried an ID of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu).
The police chief said they still could not confirm if the armed men were robbers and were about to rob the gasoline station.
The police will also investigate the incident to determine the circumstances that led to the shootout and the killing of the three armed men.
Police units have recently heightened their patrols and monitoring after a rush of separate cases of robberies and killings.