At about 8 AM on Monday, Razil Castro, was fixing the sadam truck parked outside his house when the gunman alighted from the motorcycle, witnesses say. The victim was shot eight times with a .45 caliber pistol. He sustained six gunshot wounds.
By JOHN RIZLE L. SALIGUMBA
Davao Today
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — A truck driver was killed by motorcycle-riding men in broad daylight at Purok 6, Maniki village in Kapalong town, Davao del Norte, some two hours away by land from this city.
At about 8 AM on Monday, Razil Castro, was fixing the sadam truck parked outside his house when the gunman alighted from the motorcycle, witnesses say. The victim was shot eight times with a .45 caliber pistol. He sustained six gunshot wounds.
Based on accounts, Castro was still able to crawl away from the gunman into the opposite side of the truck. But the suspect pursued him and gunned him to death. The other suspect was on standby at the motorcycle and served as a lookout.
Castro, 32, is a contract driver who delivers bananas in a company in Panabo City, an hour away from Kapalong town. He was also contracted to haul and deliver lumbers.
In a report over a local FM station on Thursday, family members were able to bring Castro to the nearby Kapalong District Hospital. But the doctors declared him dead-on-arrival.
“My brother said that the gunman is tall but thin and was wearing a jacket. He did not cover his face. It was the driver who wore a ski mask,” Lorly Castro, the victim’s younger sister, said over the radio.
Marilou, Razil’s wife, said she didn’t have any idea why her husband was killed.
“I don’t know who did it,” she said, adding that when the crime happened, she was inside the house doing the daily chores. The crime happened just moments after their eight-year-old son went off to school.
“Whoever did this to my husband, I can only hope that worse will happen to them,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lorly said her brother is a caring man who is always concerned about her and their siblings. “He is just a text away if you need him,” she said.
Hustisya (Justice), an alliance of the families of victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs), was in the area to investigate the incident. They initially traced the link of Castro’s murder to that of his former boss, Boboy Consensino, a village councilor of Daligdigan in Talaingod town, Davao del Norte.
Three years ago, Consensino was murdered in Santo Tomas town, Davao del Norte allegedly by an intelligence officer named Corporal Arnold Toriano belonging to the 72nd Infantry Battalion.
Hustisya found out that the truck with license plate YDF 933 is formerly owned by Consensino. Her wife, Emmy, managed it after his death.
However, Hustisya was not able to finish their investigation. “The family has requested they be given time to mourn and we respect that,” Dan Santiago, Hustiya’s Deputy Secretary-General told davaotoday.com.
“We suspect that the family knows more but they couldn’t tell us because they fear for their lives,” he added.
Kapalong Councilor Chichina Faye Lao Lim, who visited Castro’s family on Thursday, said she plans to pass a resolution for the investigation of the unsolved killings in her town, including Castro’s.
In will be recalled that in November 2008, Bayan Muna coordinator Rolando Antolihao was shot dead inside his house by unidentified assailant. The crime was allegedly perpetrated by the military.
Kapalong town has been known for many unsolved killings. Even Mayor Edgardo Timbol’s relative was victimized. The town’s police authorities reported that most crimes are involved with robbery, drugs and trouble in the lumber business. (John Rizle L. Saligumba/davaotoday.com)
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