By Jennifer P. Rendon
A stay-in driver of Land Transportation Office Region 6 Director Atty. Gaudioso Geduspan II was shot dead outside the official’s residence in Barangay Ungka 2, Pavia, Iloilo, on the night of April 3.
The victim, identified as Wilmer Casquite Villarosa of Janiuay, Iloilo, was gunned down around 9:45 p.m. in front of Geduspan’s home at Parc Regency Iloilo.
Closed-circuit television footage showed the suspects, brothers Jester and Jessie Dela Cruz Machinal, shooting Villarosa at close range.
In the video, Villarosa is seen leaning on a vehicle’s hood and speaking with Jessie, 40, of Barangay Aldeguer, Sara, Iloilo, when Jessie suddenly pushed him.
In an instant, Jester pulled out a gun and repeatedly shot Villarosa.
Jessie, also armed, fired at the fallen victim and later returned to deliver a close-range shot to the head.
The brothers fled aboard Jester’s white Isuzu Crosswind AUV.
They were intercepted at a police checkpoint in Barangay Aspera, Sara, Iloilo, around 11:50 p.m.
Maj. Jose Nemias Pamplona, chief of the Sara Municipal Police Station, said the suspects did not resist arrest.
“They rolled their window down, immediately alighted from the vehicle, and allowed themselves to be frisked,” Pamplona said.
At the station, the suspects admitted to the shooting but claimed they had already discarded their firearms—a 9mm pistol and a .22-caliber revolver—along the route.
Police said the brothers passed through Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Janiuay, Lambunao and Calinog, then proceeded to Passi City before taking the San Enrique-Lemery route to Sara.
Authorities recovered ID cards showing Jessie is a security guard in Clark, Pampanga, while Jester is a former overseas Filipino worker.
The suspects claimed self-defense, alleging Villarosa threatened to kill them.
“They said they killed him before he could act on his threats,” Pamplona said.
However, CCTV footage contradicted their account, showing Villarosa shirtless and apparently unarmed during the attack.
Jessie said he arrived in Iloilo last month and had been staying with his brother.
He admitted they had been drinking before the incident.
Jessie claimed the confrontation began after Villarosa allegedly stared at him aggressively.
The suspects are detained and will be charged with murder.
The Daily Guardian learned that Jester and Villarosa had a long-standing grudge.
In January 2025, Geduspan reported to Pavia police that one of the suspects was seen wielding a firearm inside their compound.
The Regional Civil Security Unit later certified that Jester is not a licensed firearm holder.
Despite the report, no action was taken to verify whether the Machinal brothers had unlicensed firearms.
PAVIA POLICE CHIEF RELIEVED
In relation to this, Maj. Harold Rendora has been relieved as chief of the Pavia Municipal Police Station.
Col. Bayani Razalan, director of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office, confirmed the administrative relief on Friday, April 4.
Razalan said the move was prompted by the April 3 shooting that killed Wilmer Casquite Villarosa in Barangay Ungka 2, Pavia.
Villarosa was the driver of LTO-6 Director Atty. Gaudioso Geduspan II.
Razalan said reports had surfaced alleging that the suspects had previously been seen in possession of firearms.
However, he said those claims have yet to be verified.
Maj. Dadje Delima, former Pavia police chief and current head of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office – Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit, will temporarily assume Rendora’s post.
