Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Sunday (October 27) the investigation on the killing last Friday in Cebu City of Mayor David Navarro of Clarin town in Misamis Occidental will be left first to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra (Screenshot / RTVM / PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a text message to journalists covering the DOJ, Guevarra – who is in Europe on official business – said: “As usual, we’ll leave it to the PNP for now and we would step in through the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) as may be needed.”
A Manila Bulletin report from Cebu City stated that Navarro was killed in a daring ambush by four masked men while he was being taken to the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office for inquest proceedings on charges of slight physical injury and acts of lasciviousness.
The report stated that Navarro was aboard a police vehicle – escorted by four police¬men, including Clarin chief of police – when a white van from the opposite direction blocked the path of the police vehicle at about 2:20 p.m. on Velez Street, Barangay Guadalupe, about 100 meters from the Cebu City Prosecu¬tor’s Office.
It stated that four masked men, all carrying long firearms, emerged from the white van and fired shots to the ground.
Before the police escorts could react, the four gunmen leveled their firearms at the lawmen before one of them yanked Navarro out of the police vehicle and repeatedly shot him.
The report also stated that a Hyundai Starex van carrying the mayor’s relatives was also fired upon by the gunmen.
After the attack, the gunmen drove off with their white van, leaving the bloodied mayor slumped on the ground, it also stated.
The same report stated that Navarro was in the list of narco-politicians whose names President Duterte released in March 2019.
Meanwhile, then Vice Mayor Glorife Roa has taken her oath of office as the new mayor of Clarin town.