TWO police officers involved in the murder of Barangay Balungag, San Fernando Councilor Malou Baringui-an and her husband, Peter, said they were not informed who their targets were when they committed the crime.In their extrajudicial confession made in the presence of their respective lawyers, Staff Sergeants Rene Catamora and Junrey Ypil said one of the suspects, Senior Master Sergeant Alvin Entoma Enad, planned the operation against the Baringui-ans.And they were only told by Enad and former Staff Sgt. Esmeraldo Quillosa that they were targeting former underlings of the late self-confessed drug lord Franz Sabalones.Like Catamora and Ypil, Quillosa was arrested after police discovered his link to the murder. According to the two officers, Quillosa served as Enad’s contact in the operation.In his affidavit, Catamora recalled that on Feb. 10, Quillosa, whom he identified as a former colleague, called him at around 7 p.m. to ask if he was willing to handle a “special job” in exchange for P250,000.Quillosa told Catamora that they were going to rob someone, but he didn’t say who.Eventually, Quillosa told Catamora that they were targeting a couple allegedly connected to Sabalones and they were reportedly keeping around P1 million in their vault.Quillosa told Catamora the job would be easy to do since the couple reportedly had few people around them, adding that their usual companion at their house was the “kuyme” (referee) of their cockfighting business.”I thought to myself that since it is drug money that we are going to take, it was alright to do it. So I said in the vernacular, ‘Sige, Boss.’ I also asked him if there were others involved and PSSg Quillosa said it was just a small group since the targets were not high profile,” Catamora said.On the night of Feb. 12, the day before the Baringui-ans were killed, Catamora again received a call from Quillosa to visit him at his house in Barangay Dumlog in Talisay City where, on arrival, Catamora was told immediately that they were to leave for San Fernando town.Quillosa told Catamora that they were to meet with Enad, whom the former identified as his classmate.When they got to San Fernando at around 9 p.m. on Feb. 12, Enad was already waiting for them aboard a multicab van parked at the highway beside the San Isidro Labrador Parish.Enad left his vehicle and boarded theirs. Inside the vehicle, Enad told the two about their targets.”PSMS Enad was telling us that the couple were allegedly underlings of slain self-confessed drug lord Franz Sabalones. He also said the couple has a previous criminal case relative to the shooting incident involving a certain ‘Canoy,'” Catamora said.The “Canoy” they were referring to was the former town mayor’s brother, Rey Canoy, who was involved in a shooting incident between the Baringui-ans in 2016.Casing the houseAccording to Catamora, Enad led them to the house of the couple in Barangay Panadtaran, San Fernando, but did not identify the couple.After passing by the couple’s house, Catamora said they eventually returned to the church and left Enad there before going home.On the morning of Feb. 13 or hours before the crime was committed, Catamora received a call from Quillosa, informing him that he wanted to go back to the couple’s house for a final check.Quillosa also instructed Catamora to pick up a certain “Bato,” also a police officer and another accomplice to their operation. Catamora later identified “Bato” as Staff Sergeant Junrey Batobalonos.Batobalonos later called Catamora to pick him up near a bank in Barangay Tipolo, Mandaue City. After picking up Batobalonos, they went back to Quillosa’s house.With Quillosa, Catamora and Batobalonos then proceeded to San Fernando to conduct a “final casing” on the couple’s house.Around lunchtime, Quillosa called Enad on his phone and told him they were already in San Fernando. Quillosa placed his phone on speaker mode so that Catamora and Batobalonos could also hear their conversation.According to Catamora, Enad instructed them to commit the crime on that day.”PMSg Enad replied, ‘Karong adlawa ang nindot trabahuon ninyo kay Dominggo ug pwede ra ninyo na at-ngan sa kalsada gikan sa buwangan,’” Enad said.(It’s better to do the operation today since it’s a Sunday and you can wait for them along the road after they visited the cockpit.)After their talk with Enad, Quillosa told Catamora and Batobalonos that he was trying to reach a certain “Ypil” to accompany them in their job. Catamora said “Ypil” turned out to be Staff Sgt. Junrey Ypil, whom he identified as his classmate when they were still police recruits.They returned home after that.But at 12 noon that day, Quillosa called Catamora to tell him that he had already gotten hold of Ypil and that they were to return to San Fernando to conduct the operation.In his extrajudicial confession, Ypil confirmed that Quillosa called him at around 2 p.m. on Feb. 13 as the latter wanted him to conduct an operation against certain individuals allegedly linked to Sabalones.Ypil said he was at his house in Barangay Canamucan, Compostela town when Quillosa called.Ypil said he initially thought that Quillosa had called him to conduct surveillance on one of Sabalones’ minions. Quillosa only told him that they were operating on a certain “Malou” from San Fernando.According to Ypil, Quillosa instructed him to meet with Catamora at the latter’s house in Mandaue City. Catamora met Ypil an hour later.Using Catamora’s vehicle, the two picked up Batobalonos in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City and Quillosa, who was waiting for them in Minglanilla town.Catamora served as driver of their getaway vehicle while Batobalonos, Quillosa and Ypil served as backup.According to Catamora, they went back to the couple’s house for Ypil to see the house and its vicinity. After visiting the house, Catamora and his group went to an upland portion of San Fernando to wait for Enad’s go signal.Ypil, in his confession, said he knew they were going to rob the couple after he heard Quillosa talking to Enad on his phone.Ypil said Enad was not present in their operation but served only as contact to Quillosa.Ypil and Catamora also admitted they brought their own firearms during the operation.Catamora had brought with him an unlicensed caliber .45 pistol while Ypil said he brought with him his service firearm. Batobolonos brought a short firearm, but it was not determined if it was his service firearm or not. Quillosa brought a long firearm for the operation.Catamora admitted that out of fear, he threw his firearm away after the incident.Call to proceedCatamora said that around 6:20 p.m. that day, while waiting at the town’s mountain area, Quillosa told him to go back to the highway.After arriving at the main highway, Quillosa received a call from Enad, who told him that the couple were already home.Catamora immediately drove the vehicle to Barangay Panadtaran and parked it in front of the couple’s house.Catamora said he stayed in the vehicle as a lookout while Batobalonos, Quillosa and Ypil disembarked with their weapons.Ypil, in his affidavit, said he and Catamora served as backup security and lookout while Quillosa and Batobalonos were the ones who talked to the couple.Catamora said Quillosa and Batobalonos approached the house’s veranda where they talked to a woman and a man. After a few minutes, the four all went to the side of the house.Catamora said that while he was inside the vehicle, he observed six people inside the house.”At a considerable distance, I heard PSsg Quillosa and PSsg Batobalonos identified themselves as “Goberno,” Catamora said, confirming the initial information that the suspects behind the Baringui-an couple’s murder identified themselves as government agents.Minutes later, Catamora heard gunshots in the house, after which Ypil suddenly boarded their vehicle accompanied by Quillosa and Batobalonos.As he was about to leave the vicinity, Catamora said his vehicle was suddenly shot while he sustained a bullet wound on his right wrist. He, however, could not determine who fired the shots.After quickly leaving the area, Catamora said he drove the vehicle toward San Fernando’s mountain barangays, exiting in Pinamungajan town, then passed by Toledo City and Balamban town, then crossed the Cebu Transcentral Highway (CTH).On exiting the CTH, Catamora said he drove his car to a private subdivision in Consolacion town.After the killingWhen they got to the subdivision, Quillosa called Enad and confronted him concerning the identities of the couple they had just gunned down.Catamora said he heard Enad, on speaker mode, apologizing to Quillosa for withholding the information, and then telling him that the woman they had killed, identified as Malou, was a councilor in one of San Fernando’s mountain barangays and was running for municipal councilor in the May 2022 elections.Catamora also heard Batobalonos admitting that he was the one who shot Malou while Quillosa shot Peter. Quillosa said he shot Peter after the latter allegedly grabbed his firearm.After, Quillosa divided the money they stole from the couple and gave Catamora and Ypil P40,000 each.Catamora then left his car in a vacant lot near the subdivision, and they all went their separate ways.On the afternoon of the next day, Feb. 14, Catamora said Quillosa called and asked the former to meet him and Batobalonos in a restaurant in Barangay Jugan in Consolacion town.At the restaurant, Quillosa gave Catamora an additional P75,000 and another P40,000 for the damage on his vehicle.According to Catamora, the money reportedly came from Enad.Ypil was not present at the restaurant, but Quillosa asked Catamora to give Ypil his share of the loot.Ypil, in his affidavit, confirmed receiving P75,000 from Catamora.Both police officers said they decided to turn themselves in after they were bothered by their conscience over the deaths of the Baringui-an couple.”I am truly sorry for what I have done. That is why I want to help the authorities in the conduct of the (sic) their investigation relative to the death of Spouses Peter and Malou Baringui-an,” both officers said in their respective confessions. (JKV, BBT)