Justice Will Be Done Before the Sun Rises

A man identified as one of the two killers of a taxi driver in a robbery in Davao City Monday night was shot and killed by policemen less than 24 hours after an angry City Mayor Rody Duterte promised his family that swift justice will be served.

“It will be over before sunrise. Justice will be done,” said the visibly upset City Mayor who has identified himself closely with the taxi drivers of his city owning a taxi unit himself which he drives personally incognito.

Rey Anthony Cayud-ong Caroro was shot and killed by members of a roving police team after he and his unidentified companion pulled off yet another robbery in Matina District, Davao City.

Caroro and his unnamed companion were identified as the same persons involved in the killing of taxi driver Rommel S. Pareño, 35, in a rare incident of robbery and homicide involving a cab driver.

Pareño, driver of Xanna Issa Taxi, was robbed and killed by Caroro and his companion Monday night, an incident which was immediately reported by the police to Duterte.

The City Mayor, dubbed by Time Magazine in an article as “The Punisher,” immediately ordered City police operatives to hunt down the two suspects.

By Thursday afternoon, after having been informed of leads in the investigation, Duterte promised Davao City residents and the family of Pareño that justice will be served before sunrise Friday.

Caroro was shot and killed after taxi driver, Leoneto Alberena Galan, 40, reported to policemen that he had just been robbed by two men along Tulip Dive in Juna Subdivision.

Davao City Police Office spokesperson Senior Inspector Milgrace Driz said that a team led by one SPO4 Didal immediately responded and caught up with Caroro who was shot and killed on the spot.

His unnamed companion fled.

Recovered from him were a caliber .357 revolver containing three live ammos and one fired cartridge case, four sachets of suspected shabu, one folded knife, P900 cash, and a Philhealth membership card in the name of Rey Anthony Cayud-ong Caroro.

At the Hotel Elena Sunday night in a dinner with local officials of Tumauini, Isabela who were accompanied by Party List Cong. Silvestre Bello III and a delegation from the Israeli Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines headed by Eyal Ben Ari, Duterte vowed he would use all resources of government to ensure that justice will be served to people who have less in life.

“We owe it to the family of people like Pareño who was honestly earning a living for his family to ensure that justice is done,” he said.

While he said that criminals and crime could not be totally prevented, quick police reaction could provide relief and comfort to the grieving members of the victims of bloody incidents.

Davao City’s law enforcement has largely been successful because of the huge investment made by Duterte on the police force and the modern 911 Emergency Response Unit.

Justice Will Be Done Before the Sun Rises by Manny Pinol