Police have identified the gunmen who allegedly shot two operatives conducting a raid on the residence of expelled Iglesia ni Cristo members Angel Manalo and Lottie Manalo-Hemedez at the disputed INC compound in Quezon City last Thursday.
Quezon City Police District-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit chief Supt. Rodelio Marcelo said they have filed charges of frustrated murder and direct assault against Jonathan Ledesma, 42, and Joseph Sabbaluca, 49, for firing on Police Officers 2 Henry Hular and Joemarie Oandasan during the operation on Tandang Sora Ave.
Ledesma and Sabbaluca, Marcelo said, were identified by the wounded cops during a close encounter with the suspects as they raided one of the rooms in the residence of the estranged siblings of INC Executive Minister Eduardo V. Manalo.
The duo reportedly opened fire at the two policemen using an M-16 Armalite and a shotgun. A bullet from an Armalite was found in the wounds of Hular who is still recuperating from a stomach surgery.
While the suspects refused to undergo gun powder test, Marcelo said that the statements of the policemen were enough to charge them for the alleged crime. They also confirmed that the duo were former Marine officers.
Marcelo said they are not discounting the possibility that Ledesma and Sabbaluca were also responsible for firing at two security guards last Monday, the incident that led to the raid on Thursday.
The two joined Manalo, Hemedez, and 22 others who have been charged for illegal possession of firearms for yielding various guns during the operation. (Vanne Elaine P. Terrazola)