SAN CARLOS CITY—A four-day administrative probe has been carried out to see whether there was a security lapse on the part of policemen deployed to secure the area where the city mayor was shot last Saturday.

Senior Supt. Noli Taliño, chief of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management, told The PUNCH that the team created by Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, regional police director, conducted random interviews among the 25 policemen deployed to secure the jampacked auditorium.

Mayor Julian Resuello died Monday morning while his escort, Eulogio Martinez died on the spot due to multiple gun shot wounds. Seven others, including a policeman and a nine-year old girl, were wounded during the attack.

Taliño said even city police chief, Superintendent Johnny Bacbac, was under probe being the overall supervisor of the deployment of his men and also under the principle of command responsibility.

There were 12 policemen from this city and another 13 from the Regional Mobile Group assigned to secure the place during that fateful night.

The findings submitted to Bataoil Thursday will serve as basis for further administrative actions.

“We’re looking at possible suspects who may have been wounded. Let’s not disregard that very vital information so we can show that your policemen did their best under the circumstances,” Bataoil told the media.

He said the police were aware that there was a threat on the life of the mayor and the policemen made some pro-active police interventions.

Provincial Elections Supervisor Reddy Balarbar also sought deployment of additional troops to San Carlos although by body count, there are now 130 uniformed men maintaining peace and order in the city.

The latest to arrive in San Carlos on Monday were 16 army men while 34 men, two of them officers from the Regional Mobile Group, were already sent to San Carlos days before Resuello was murdered as part of the efforts to secure San Carlos, having been listed as an “area of concern” by the police.

Superintendent Johnny Bacbac, police chief, said the newly arrived troops augmented the 80-member San Carlos City police force.

OTHER TOWNS

In another development, Senior Superintendent Isagani Nerez, police provincial director, said they are also closely monitoring other “areas of concern” in Pangasinan to avert possible election-related violence.

These include the towns of San Nicolas, Natividad, Tayug, Binmaley, Bugallon, Sual, Balungao and San Manuel.

He said they are looking into the deployment of other forces in these areas to maintain peace and order for the coming May 14 election.–EVA, LM, APE

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