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April - June 2012Volume 1Issue No. 28Background of the CaseRodel Estrellado, a memberof the Bayan Muna-Sorsogon Chapter,was allegedly abducted on February25, 2011 in a basketball court in Brgy.3, Malilipot, Albay. He was then on hisway home after buying food at themarket when he was accosted by four(4) unidentified male persons whointroduced themselves as PDEAagents. He was boarded to a van withplate no.MXN 902 which sped offtowards the direction of Legazpi City.Prior to the abduction, an unidentifiedmale person pretending to be an LBCemployee was looking for Bauma'sresidence (Rodel was married toMarilyn Bauma).At about 1:25 PM of the samedate, Major Danilo Ambe and LtndMariel Bonilla, members of the 42Infantry Brigade (IB), PhilippineArmy (PA) based in Tigaon,Camarines Sur presented the cadaverof Rodel to the Bato MPS, CamarinesSur whom they identified as certain“Elmer Estrellado,” an alleged highrankingofficial of the NPA whom theykilled in an encounter in Brgy.Buluang, Bato, Camarines at about6:30 AM of same date. Bato MPSplaced the cadaver of Rodel at theEstadilla Funeral Homes in Nabua,Camarines Sur for safekeeping. OnFebruary 27, 2011, his cadaver waslocated by his mother Nora Estrellado.Mrs Estrellado confirmed that thecadaver is his son named Rodel andnot Elmer as earlier reported by themilitary.42nd IB’s versionAccording to the military,Rodel was with more or less seven (7)communist terrorists when he waskilled in an encounter by the combinedDETECTIVEThe Rodel Dreo Estrellado case proves that SpecialInvestigation Task Group (SITG) means business inthe conduct of the investigation whoever theperpetrators are. The efforts of the Police Regional Office 5 (PRO 5),particularly SITG “ESTRELLADO” in the successful investigation of this casemade its SITG Commander, PCSUPT VICTOR PELOTA DEONA bagged themuch-coveted Case Manager of the Year Award during the celebration of thest<strong>DIDM</strong> 21 Founding Anniversary on March 5, 2012.TheTASK FORCE USIGSITG’s Best Practices“Rodel Estrellado Case”By: PSSUPT WILLIAM S MACAVINTA /PSUPT HENRY Q LIBAYndelements of 42 IB, PA led by MajorththAmbe, 97 MICO and 5 ISU in Brgy.Buluang, Bato, Camarines onFebruary 25, 2011, at about 6:30 AM.Allegedly recovered from Rodel werethe following: Colt 1911 caliber .45pistol with serial no.2398051; two (2)ammunition; backpack containing two(2) Improvised Explosive Devices(IEDs); cellular phone and subversivedocuments. The military officers saidintelligence reports averred that Rodelwas the commanding officer of theRegional Headquarters, Bicol RegionalParty Committee and Head of SpecialOperations Group.Activation of SITG ESTRELLADOOn February 28, 2011, PRO 5activated SITG ESTRELLADOheaded by then PSSUPT VICTOR PD E O N A , D R D A , P R O 5 t ospearhead the investigation of thecase.W h e r e i n v e s t i g a t i v etechniques and best practices ininvestigation and detectivemanagement practices pays offThe facial composite of one ofthe abductors (the LBC man) to locatethe house of Rodel was immediatelygenerated. A sketch of the abduction sitewas also prepared to compliment thephotographs taken on the abduction site.Witnesses' accounts and statements onthe abduction of Rodel in Malilipot,Albay and those who claim that therewas actually no armed encounter wereimmediately secured. Coordination wasalso made with the PDEA5, however,PDEA5 stated that they have nooperation whatsoever in Malilipot,Albay.Members of SITG Estrelladoalso coordinated with LBC-Tabaco CityBranch to inquire on the LBC pouch thatmaybe used to locate the residence ofRodel. However, according to theirstaff, the pouch's design is no longerbeing used by their company sinceAugust 2010. They added that saidpouch could have been a subject of acompleted transaction because thedate of the mailing does not appeartherein. Verification was also madewith the LTO-Legazpi City todetermine the owner of the vehicleused in the actual abduction and theother suspicious vehicles noticed theday before and the day of the allegedabduction.Upon receipt of the cadaver ofRodel by the Bato MPS from membersn do f t h e 4 2 I B a n d p r o p e rdocumentation, it was immediatelybrought to the Bato Municipal HealthUnit for the conduct of post-mortemexamination.On February 28, 2011, PNPpersonnel proceeded to the allegedencounter site in Brgy. Buluang, Bato,Camarines Sur and did not find anysign of fire fight in the area.On March 2, 2011, a reautopsyon the cadaver of the victimwas jointly conducted by the medicolegalexperts of the NBI and RCLO5 atthe Oro Funeral Homes in LegazpiCity. The two (2) metallic fragmentsrecovered in the cadaver of Rodelturned out to be from the firearm ofMajor Ambe. A standard post-mortemfingerprint chart was also taken fromthe cadaver for identificationpurposes. When the cadaver wassubjected to paraffin casting it wasfound out that Rodel was negative ofgunpowder nitrates.The alleged encounter sitewhich was only pinpointed by thesoldiers on March 5, 2011 (8 days after
DETECTIVEThe9April - June 2012Volume 1Issue No. 2the alleged encounter) was properlyprocessed by the SOCO personnel. Asketch was made and photographswere also taken. The recoveredempty shells for M16, M14 caliber .45pistol (a total of 87 empty shells) atthe alleged encounter site weres u b j e c t e d t o b a l l i s t i ce x a m i n a t i o n / c r o s s - m a t c h i n gthrough IBIS with the firearmsndsurrendered by the 42 IB, PA to theCIDG only on March 8, 2011 (11 daysafter the alleged encounter) toinclude the caliber.45 pistolallegedly recovered from Rodel.Findings/Analysis of SITGESTRELLADOAfter careful and meticulousevaluation of the pieces of evidencea n d o t h e r c i r c u m s t a n c e ss u r r o u n d i n g t h e c a s e , S I T GESTRELLADO came out with aconclusion that the military hassomething to do with the abductionand subsequent killing of RodelEstrellado based on the following:1. Rodel cannot be intwo (2) places at the same time. Itis impossible for Rodel to beexchanging fire with the soldiers atabout 6:30 AM of February 25, 2011in Brgy. Buluang, Bato, CamarinesSur where in fact he was still inMalilipot, Albay at that time and wasonly abducted at about 8:00 AM of thesame day;2. Rodel was still aliveeven after he was reportedlykilled in the alleged encounter.According to the Rural Health Unit ofthe Municipality of Bato, CamarinesSur who conducted the NecropsyExamination (NE), Rodel was onlydead for three (3) hours which meansthat he was still alive until 10:00 AMto 11:00 AM of February 25, 2011.This was corroborated by PNPpersonnel of Bato MPS who helpedthe PA members in carrying thelifeless body of Rodel from themilitary vehicle going to BatoMunicipal Health Office minutesbefore the NE, they observedflexibility on the cadaver's arms, legsand neck which means that RigorMortis, which is usually observableafter six (6) hours, has not yet kickedin;3. No fire fight ensued.According to two (2) witness whoreside in Brgy. Buluang, Bato,Camarines Sur, there was no armedencounter on February 25, 2011 intheir area. Instead, at about 10:00AM of the same day, they heard gunfires emanating from the top of the hilland when checked, they saw 7-8 menclad in military uniforms firing theirrifles in the air. The volley of firesallegedly lasted for only three (3)minutes and thereafter the soldierscasually went down the hill. They alsoemphasized that the soldiers were theonly persons at that time present ontop of the hill. Later, they learned thata corpse was brought down by thesoldiers;4. No firefight happenedbased on scientific findings.Result of the cross-matching of thesurrendered firearms by members ofndthe 42 IB, PA with the recoveredempty shells from the allegedencounter site has four (4) disturbingfacts among others, that wouldsuggest that indeed there was nofirefight. Although it is not conclusiveto determine if he indeed fired afirearm, it cannot be denied thatRodel was negative for presence ofgunpowder nitrates;5. R o d e l ' s w o u n d s .Rodel sustained three (3) gunshotwounds at the back, abrasions onsome parts of the body and contusionon the abdomen. Injuries that isunusual from someone who died in afirefight;6. Trying to prove thatthere was an encounter. On March2, 2011, barangay officials of Brgy.Buluang appeared before the BatoMPS and reported that on February27, 2011, at about 10:00 AM, four (4)male persons who introducedndthemselves as members of the 42 IB,PA asked them to sign a certificationstating that an armed encounterhappened on February 25, 2011, atabout 6:30 AM. Accordingly, the otherbarangay officials were compelled tosign the same despite protest that thegun fires were actually heard at about10:00 AM of the same date. Some ofthem also claimed that they weredenied the opportunity to examine thefull contents of certification;7. Delay in the turn-overof evidence. Despite numerousrequests, it was only on March 8, 2011ndthe 42 IB, PA submitted to the PNP-CIDG the caliber .45 allegedlyrecovered from Rodel and the riflesand the light machine gun of theinvolved personnel which had been intheir possession since February 25,2011; and,8. C o i n c i d e n c e ? O nFebruary 24, 2011 or a day prior to theabduction/killing, personnel of MICObased at Camp Simeon Ola, LegazpiCity personally coordinated with theMalilipot MPS that an operation withthe Southern Command (SOCOM)will be conducted in their area.Further, according to a witness whoresides near the abduction site said, aday before the abduction, she noticeda red Toyota Innova with plateno.ZEU 172 with five (5) malesonboard which stayed long near herresidence/abduction site. Accordingto the responding PNP personnel,although they approached thesuspicious maroon van, they were notable to see the face of the driver as thevan's window was only partly openedand the driver politely told them thatthey were leaving. Surprisinglythereafter, Malilipot MPS received atext message from a MICO personnelsaying that they have an on-goingoperation in their area.On February 25, 2011, atabout 6:00AM, said MICO personnelagain texted the Malilipot MPSproviding information regarding analleged armed group using a redNissan Urvan with plate no.PLT 651heading to Brgy. Calbayog. On thatsame day, a dirty white ToyotaTamaraw with plate no.TRE 155 wasagain noticed parked on the same sitewhere the Toyota Innova was parkedfrom 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM. Verificationmade with the LTO-Tabaco Cityrevealed that plate nos.MXN 902 andTRE 155 have no records while plateno.UCP 232 was found to be belongingto a dark blue Toyota Tamarawregistered to a certain JoselitoPaulino of San Ildefonso, Bulacan,and plate no.ZEU-172 was found to beregistered in the name of AntonioDebelos of Cotabato City.Murder case filed against thesoldiersOn May 9, 2011, a case ofMurder against Major Danilo GAmbe, and 7 others was filedbefore the Camarines Sur ProvincialProsecutor's Office and was docketedunder NPS No.V-10-INV-11E-00452.However, based on the motion of thefamily of the victim, the casewas transferred at the AlbayProvincial Prosecutor's Office wherei t i s c u r r e n t l y u n d e r g o i n gp r e l i m i n a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n .Meanwhile, the AFP relieved theabovementioned soldiers from theirduties and responsibilities, while theGeneral Court Martial Proceedingsagainst them have been suspended bythe AFP after a criminal case hasbeen filed.
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