Cop pleads not guilty in Negros Oriental killings

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — A police officer accused of killing four people, including three fellow officers, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment at a Regional Trial Court in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, on Tuesday.

Police Staff Sgt. Bonifacio Saycon entered the plea in connection with multiple murder cases stemming from a January shooting incident in Sibulan town.

Police Capt. Stephen Polinar, spokesperson for the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office, said authorities could not determine the next legal steps as the case is already under the court’s jurisdiction.

Polinar said police were not privy to discussions between Saycon and his legal counsel regarding the plea.

He said the police force will extend whatever assistance is necessary to support the prosecution.

Polinar said the case will proceed to pretrial, which includes the presentation of evidence, before moving to a full trial.

Saycon was charged with murder in connection with the death of 38-year-old Chelamie Dinawanao.

Dinawanao was shot at a restobar in Barangay Tubtubon, Sibulan, on Jan. 9, where she was employed and where Saycon and fellow officers were attending a birthday celebration for their police chief.

After the initial shooting, Saycon’s colleagues escorted him outside the bar and placed him in a vehicle owned and driven by Sibulan police chief Police Capt. Jose Edrohil Cimafranca.

Police Senior Master Sgt. Tristan Joseph Chua and Patrolman Rey Albert Temblor were also inside the vehicle at the time.

Cimafranca, Chua, and Temblor were later shot dead inside the vehicle before Saycon surrendered to police in Tanjay City.

Saycon also faces charges of qualified direct assault with murder in connection with the deaths of his three colleagues.

Polinar said Saycon was transferred to the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Dumaguete City after a commitment order was issued on Monday.

Authorities said investigators are initially looking into possible personal grudges as a motive, and the investigation remains ongoing.

The three slain police officers have been laid to rest, with Temblor being the last buried at Serenity Garden Memorial Park in Tanjay City on Tuesday.