By ANTHONY GIRON
CAMP GEN. PANTALEON GARCIA, IMUS, Cavite — The Cavite Police Provincial Office (PPO) assured on Monday the implementation of crime preventive measures after a former soldier went on a shooting rampage in General Trias City that resulted in the death of four persons and himself last Sunday.
It was the first time in years that such number of shooting fatalities perpetrated by a distraught ex-Philippine Army man was reported in Cavite province.
With the report, the PPO assured action plans, including crime prevention measures, that may well check shooting incidents in the turf.
In a report released on Monday, Colonel Marlon Roque Santos, Cavite PPO director, said that gunman Junny Carampot Palacio, 47, killed himself after he ran amuck and shot dead four neighbors and wounded two responding policemen in Sitio Carapiohan in Barangay Santiago.
Santos identified the dead as Muharma Bautista, 59; Alberto Sorio, 57, a retired Philippine Army man; Recto Marbit, 47, a tricycle driver; and Pilar Bacaoco, 34.
The wounded were Police Chief Master Sergeant Rizaldy Espiritu and Police Staff Master Sgt. Reynaldo Tan, both assigned to a police precinct in Barangay San Francisco, General Trias.
Espiritu sustained a wound in the right arm while Tan got wounds in the upper arm and abdomen.
Initial police investigation report showed that the incident happened at 8 a.m. Sunday.
Palacio, reportedly armed with a.38-caliber revolver, shot the victims one after the other in the area as he was looking for six individuals who allegedly maligned his reputation for being a contractor.
He also shot the officers who were responding to the scene.
Just as the police team was negotiating for his surrender, Palacio leveled his gun onto his head and fired, killing him instantly.
The team, including Espiritu and Tan, reportedly responded to the scene as they heard the successive gunfire as they were conducting illegal gambling surveillance nearby.
Palacio reportedly fired his gun upon seeing the team on board a mobile car as he was on the right portion of the road.
Tan, although wounded, was able to drive the mobile car away from the scene.
Tan and Espiritu were brought to a hospital for treatment. Both are now in stable condition.
