THE man who reloaded the gun of Ronald Bae during his shooting rampage in Kawit, Cavite on Friday has surrendered to authorities.

John Paul Lopez, Bae’s alleged cohort and house caretaker for 13 years, surrendered to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in the province.

Major Reynaldo Magdaluyo, CIDG chief, said that Lopez, who went into hiding shortly after the killings, surrendered to him on Friday after negotiations with his relatives.

Lopez, who reloaded Bae’s gun several times at the height of his shooting rampage, is detained at the agency’s jail in Imus City, Cavite.

Lopez’s surrender was announced as the Kawit police chief and his deputy were relieved from their posts on Saturday for the slow response of the local police to the shooting rampage, allowing Bae to kill at least eight persons, two of them children.

Lopez, 27, claimed that he was threatened by Bae into reloading his pistol, Magdaluyo said.

“Bae threatened to kill me if I did not join in and give him bullets while he was shooting anybody that he met,” Lopez told reporters in Tagalog.

Cavite Gov. Juanito Victor Remulla said in a radio interview that authorities doubted the suspect’s version of events.

“He changed the clip three or four times as Bae broke into houses. He [Lopez] could have easily escaped,” Remulla told dzMM radio.

Lt. Col. Dionisio Borromeo said that they have enough evidence against Lopez to charge him with multiple and frustrated murder.

Initial police investigation revealed that Bae and Lopez have been drinking and taking the banned stimulant shabu since New Year’s Eve, after Bae arrived from Pampanga province, where he had been living since losing in the last election for barangay chairman.

According to scene of the crime operatives, Lopez was found positive of shabu use.

Relieved
Chief Supt. James Melad, Southern Tagalog regional police commander, ordered the relief of major Jowel Saliba, Kawit chief of police and his deputy identified only as Lieutenant Salazar.

Melad also wanted investigators to find out why Bae was able to shoot so many people before policemen arrived at the crime scene. Besides the eight killed, Bae also wounded 10 others, including three children.

It was later known that police failed to act on reports that Bae had fired his gun indiscriminately during the New Year revelry. The license of Bae’s .45-caliber pistol was found to have expired.

Witnesses said that Bae’s rampage started at about 9:30 a.m. in Barangay Tabon 1 in Kawit, shooting everyone he met with a .45-caliber pistol. His rampage ended at about 11 a.m., when he was killed while trading shots with responding policemen.

Police identified some of the fatalities as Michaella Andrea Caimol, 6; Alberto Fernandez, 55; Gilbert Toledo; Al Orio; Irene Funelas; Rhea de Vera, who was pregnant and her 3-year old son, John Monica.

Wounded were Ken Cedric Caimol, 3; Michele Caimol, 2; Kevin Vallada, 5; Maricel Paja, 27; Emelinda Aquepel, 41; Ricky Dumip-ig, 17; Cheveri Ayson, 46; Antonio Drio, 15 and Baby Anolacion, 33.

Friday’s shooting rampage followed the killing of two children by celebratory gunfire in Manila, which has triggered outrage and condemnation of the Philippines’ poorly enforced gun laws.

There were 1.2 million registered firearms in the Philippines last year, with another 600,000 unlicensed weapons in circulation, according to police.

Stiff penalties
Meanwhile, House Deputy Minority Leader Ma. Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay sought stiffer penalties against persons who indiscriminately fire their guns.

“At present, the penalties of imprisonment for several months is not serving as a deterrent for those who indiscriminately fire their weapons. They treat it as a sport. They fire their weapons without regard to the danger they pose to their communities and challenge the police to weed them out,” Magsaysay said.

Rep. Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis party-list said that the Cavite-tragedy only shows that some people and criminals have become more emboldened because of the prevailing culture of impunity.

“Chronic problems like the use and trade of illegal drugs and proliferation of loose firearms cannot be controlled if police officers can be easily bribed by both petty and syndicated criminals,” Mariano said.

WITH REPORTS FROM LLANESCA T. PANTI AND AFP