Pubdate: Wed, 03 Aug 2005
Source: Sun.Star Cebu (Philippines)
Copyright: 2005 Sun.Star
Contact:  http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1690
Author: Mia E. Abellana
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Summary+Execution
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Philippines

'DRUG LORD' SHOT DEAD, VIGILANTE STYLE, IN TOLEDO

Although most of the cases against James Richard Lazaga Jr. have been
dismissed, police and local officials consider the 24-year-old a
big-time drug lord in Toledo City.

Supt. Leodegardo Ace-bedo and Mayor Arlene Zambo told Sun.Star Cebu in
separate interviews that Lazaga's name had always been associated with
the drug trade in Toledo City.

"It's public knowledge that he was a drug personality in the city. He
had been arrested several times, but we don't know why his cases get
dismissed over some technicalities," Zambo said.

This is the reason police are looking into a drug deal as the motive
for his killing last Monday night.

Lazaga and his alleged right-hand man Novelito Tarongoy, 22, were shot
dead in front of Lazaga's house.

Both were sitting outside Lazaga's house in Sitio Luray 1, Barangay
Poblacion when two men on a red motorcycle pumped bullets into them at
7:45 p.m.

It's easy to point to a vigilante group as the one behind the killing
because of the manner in which the shooting was done, said Acebedo,
but he is not yet ready to rule out the possibility of drugs or a debt
as the reason.

The shooting bore similarities to the summary executions carried out
in Cebu City. The attackers wore cloth masks and rode a motorcycle.

But Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who heads the Regional Peace and Order
Council, refused to conclude yet that vigilantes extended their
operation in the province after killing more than 70 persons in Cebu
City.

She admitted, however, that the killings in Carcar town and Toledo
City, which seemed to have been done by vigilantes, raise some concern.

She wants to get a report first from the Cebu Provincial Police Office
(CPPO).

Garcia ordered CPPO Director Drusillo Bolodo to immediately look into
the incidents and submit a report before they take further action.

She also called on the public to help the authorities and the
government leaders to monitor the activities of these killers.

"We cannot take the law into our hands. There are always proper
procedures and the proper courts to seek redress for crimes committed
and those who seek to violate existing laws," she said.

In Toledo, Acebedo ordered his intelligence officers to conduct
extensive background checks on Lazaga.

Aside from possible drug dealings, Acebedo revealed that Lazaga
recently joined a derby in a southern town and ran away with a debt of
P300,000.

Even with Lazaga's image, Zambo said she is not in favor of
vigilantism.

"As a Catholic and a Christian, I don't believe in that. I believe in
due process. However, let that serve as a big warning to criminals
here," she said.

Also, she is not convinced yet that vigilantes from Cebu City have
moved to Toledo City.

Zambo might change her stand about vigilantism only if it's proven
that it has helped the peace and order in her city. Lazaga reportedly
belonged to a prominent family in the city.

Because the perpetrators wore masks and used a motorcycle with no
plate number, Acebedo admitted that this will be a difficult case to
crack.

The lack of witnesses is also a problem.

Acebedo said there were reports that Lazaga's operations reached the
neighboring Negros provinces.

Intelligence operatives at the CPPO also said they tried several times
to pin Lazaga down, but he always managed to elude them.
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