Suspects behind the killing of a hospital executive in this city were arrested by the police early Friday in Misamis Oriental even before they can get their hands on the PHP150,000 transacted fee allegedly promised by a “middle man”.
In a radio interview over DXMR-Magnum Radyo, Marjun Abayon Cabug, 39, of San Antonio, Don Carlos, Bukidnon, said a certain Rene Turtosa contacted him and three others for the plan to kill Dr. Raul Winston Andutan, 62, the medical director of the Maria Reyna-Xavier University Hospital (MRXUH) here.
“There was a friend of Rene who gave him (the job in killing the doctor); it was his (Rene’s) friend who was looking (for people who can do the job),” Cabug said in the vernacular.
However, Turtosa was able to escape from the police manhunt operations immediately launched after Andulan’s ambush-slay on Thursday morning.
Cabug claimed that he was the driver of the motorcycle during the 10 a.m. ambush of Andutan in Barangay Nazareth here.
He pointed to Joel Arcilla Nacua, of Lilingayon, Valencia City, Bukidnon, as the alleged triggerman, and Jomar Pacilan Adlao, 30, of Dulugan, Maramag, Bukidnon, as one of the lookouts.
Cabug, Nacua, and Adlao were arrested around 3 a.m. Friday near a beach in Balingoan, Misamis Oriental.
An update said police operatives nabbed a fourth suspect, identified as Felipe Tingabngab Entira, 63, in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental on Friday afternoon.
Of the five suspects, only Turtosa remains at large.
Nacua, for his part, claimed that Turtosa was with them during the ambush as the one who waited in front of Andutan’s house, and signaled to them when the victim was about to leave the premises.
The statement from Nacua and Cabug in the radio interview was taken without the presence of any legal counsel on their behalf.
They claimed Turtosa told them that Andutan had issues related to his work, and personal affairs, but they did not elaborate during the interview.
A joint hot pursuit operation was conducted by different police stations and units in Northern Mindanao Region as early as 3 a.m. Friday that led to the capture of the three suspects in Balingoan town.
In the same radio interview, Lt. Teddy Macarayo, acting chief of the Balingoan municipal police station, said the three suspects were apprehended while pretending to be swimming on the beach.
“Due to the good surveillance of operatives, they were able to identify the suspects who were hiding in the beach premises,” he said.
After the apprehension, the police were able to locate the house they had rented, which served as a hiding place, and confiscated two loaded .45-caliber pistols and a hand grenade.
All arrested suspects are currently detained at the CDO police station 9 for the proper filing of charges.
Meanwhile, Col. Aaron Mandia, the city police director, said during a press conference here that the suspects had been living in their Balingoan hideout for a long time, adding that the group has another safe house in Barangay Camaman-an here.
He said that some neighbors, including the landlord of the house they had rented in Camaman-an, have positively identified the suspects.
Gen. Benjamin Acorda, the Police Regional Office – Northern Mindanao director, said it was also high time to require business and public establishments to install closed-circuit television cameras, which is very important in resolving cases.
Nine-day ‘novena’
Also on Friday, the MRXUH community began a nine-day mass for the death of Andutan.
In a statement, the administration and staff of the hospital said they were “forever grateful for his generous service”.
“His caring presence to his colleagues, MRXUH personnel, and patients; and his wisdom and total dedication to the MRXUH,” the statement said.
The Philippine Urological Association Inc. (PUA) also sent its condolences to the bereaved family, and at the same time condemned the killings.
“The manner and gravity of this dastardly attack on one of the members mark a worrying escalation of violence. No cause can justify such brutality and senseless killing,” the group said.
Andutan was the former president of the PUA and the Philippine Board of Urology.
Source: Philippines News Agency