MANILA, Philippines — Four barangay tanods or peacekeepers have been charged with murder after a witness reportedly saw them with a man who was later found dead in a creek in Las Piñas City, an official said yesterday.
“We have arrested two (barangay tanods) and another two afterwards… It was very clear (that they were involved). That is why we charged them wi th murder, based on the positive identification of the witness,” city police chief Col. Jaime Santos said in an interview with dzBB.
“But the truth is, we are seeing many suspects involved. Aside from the four suspects arrested, there are five or six other people involved,” he added.
Santos did not identify the arrested peacekeepers.
According to the Southern Police District, the man – who was not identified in the SPD report – was found dead along C-5 Creek at past 11 a.m. on Dec. 26, 2023.
Santos said investigators obtained closed-circuit television footage that would help identify other people involved in the incident.
Police i nvestigation also revealed that the motive for the victim’s murder was a stolen bicycle.
Santos said police will conduct a thorough investigation to identify all the people behind the k illing.
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) recently prevented two Americans, both registered sex offenders (RSOs), from entering the country.
In a statement yesterday, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that under the country’s immigration law, Zachary Tyler Thompson and Paul Neal Coltharp are forbidden to enter since they were convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.
Thompson, 39, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA-1) from Los Angeles, California. The BI did not state the date of Thompson’s arrival.
He was convicted in 2013 and 2015 for possessing obscene materials depicting a minor in sexual conduct and for molesting a child, according to the BI.
Coltharp, 46, arrived at NAIA-1 on Dec. 27, 2023 from Taipei, Taiwan.
Based on the information shared by the US government, a California court convicted Coltharp of child molestation in 1998 wherein the victim was a 14-year-old girl.
The two foreigners were immediately excluded and flown back to their ports of origin. Their names were also included in the BI’s blacklist of undesirable aliens.
MANILA, Philippines — A police manhunt is underway for two people who killed a 21-year-old man in Quezon City on Tuesday night.
The victim, Alvin Cabrera, was sitting on his motorcycle along Bulusan street in Barangay Salvacion when he was gunned down at around 11:15 p.m.
Probers said two men on a motorcycle, one of whom was armed with a handgun, shot Cabrera twice.
Based on closed-circuit television footages shown over GMA News, the assailants drove around the area for several minutes before they attacked the victim.
Cabrera was dead when barangay public safety officers arrived in the area after they were informed by residents about the gunshots.
Investigators retrieved two bullet casings at the scene of the shooting.
Cabrera, a resident of Pasay City, was identified through his driver’s license.
Police said they recovered a cell phone, P1,570 in cash and two sachets of suspected shabu from the victim’s possession.
Police are searching for leads to determine the suspects’ identities and their motive.
MANILA, Philippines — The most wanted fugitive in Quezon City was arrested in Barangay Bahay Toro on Monday, police announced on Wednesday.
Marlon Maestre, 32, was collared by policemen along Shorthorn street at around 4:30 p.m., Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan said.
Maestre was apprehended based on a warrant of arrest issued by a court for homicide.
The suspect was brought to the QCPD’s district special operations unit for documentation.