LINGAYEN–Short of arresting the suspects, the police believes it has finally scored a breakthrough in its investigation into the more than three-week old slaying of Mayor Arthur Cabantac of Agno town.

P/Sr. Supt Isagani Nerez, provincial police director, announced last week that Task Force Cabantac has zeroed in on an identified group of guns-for-hire believed responsible for the crime after working on positive leads and that manhunt for them is ongoing.

However, he did not give any indication on the identity of these suspects.

If Nerez’s assessment that guns-for-hire were involved is proven true, it debunks earlier reports implicating policemen in the slaying of Cabantac on the night of August 2 while he was playing mahjong in a friend’s house.

Two policemen were previously held for questioning by the task force, but the two later turned out negative of powder burns when paraffin-tested.

“We already have an air-tight case against the identified gunmen and those who hired them,” said Nerez, a lawyer.

Task Force Cabantac is headed by P/Supt. David Rapisora, deputy provincial director for operations, with members from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, PNP Crime Laboratory, Police Investigation Division and the Agno Police Station.

The police provincial office was ordered by Governor Amado Espino Jr. to hasten the investigation of the case and to file the charges against the suspects and the mastermind.

A P500,000 reward was offered for any person who will provide the information to the police that could lead to the early apprehension of the suspects. (P250,000 was pledged by Espino and another P250,000 from the Pangasinan Mayors League headed by Binalonan Mayor Ramon Guico Jr.).

Espino, chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council, had ordered not only the immediate arrest of Cabantac killers but also the ‘guns-for-hire’ believed to be teeming in Pangasinan, including their coddlers.

Meanwhile, Nerez said the Police Provincial Office is set to hold a seminar on security services for security personnel detailed to public officials.

He cited the lapses committed by the security detail of Cabantac who failed to detect and stop the attack of the gunman and his conspirators. — LM

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