Cops nab suspect in priest’s slay

Agents of the Northern Police District intelligence unit arrested one of two prime suspects in the rob-slay of a Navotas parish priest following an operation last Tuesday in Silang, Cavite.

NPD director Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco Jr. presented to media yesterday Roger Malinao, the self-confessed killer of Fr. Romeo Encinas Asuzano, parish priest of San Lorenzo Ruiz and Companion Martyrs Parish in North Bay Boulevard South, Navotas.

"Sana mapatawad ako ni Father sa aking nagawa, pinagsisisihan ko ito," said Malinao, 22, who claimed to have killed at least 13 other individuals.

At around 9 p.m. last Saturday, Asuzano was on his bicycle crossing the C-3 Bridge when he was waylaid by two holdup men armed with bladed weapons.

When the priest tried to defend himself, one of the suspects stabbed him in the left armpit killing the priest.

"Nabigla lang ako kasi nanlaban siya. Huli ko nang nalaman na pari pala matapos siyang magsalita," Malinao said.

The suspects escaped after divesting the victim of his cell phone and wallet containing P4,000.

PO1 Nelvie Salvador of the nearby Caloocan City Police Community Precinct 7 found Asuzano on top of the bridge at around 9:30 p.m. but failed to identify him in the absence of his wallet.

Asuzano’s parishioners learned of the priest’s fate last Sunday when he failed to show up for a morning Mass.

The parishioners coordinated with police who were able to track down witnesses. This resulted in the identification of Malinao and another suspect, identified as Ronaldo Francisco of Kaunlaran Village, Navotas.

The NPD-District Police Intelligence Unit (DPIU), led by Superintendent Sotero Ramos Jr., worked with Caloocan and Navotas police in hunting down the suspects. Malinao was arrested at the Aguilo Compound in Barangay Tataria, Silang at around 6:45 a.m. last Tuesday.

Francisco, who was arrested by the DPIU for robbery charges on March 20, 2002, remains at large.

Asuzano’s fellow priest, Fr. Allan Gomez, his younger brother Fedil Asuzano, and parishioners thanked police for the early solution of the case.

"We can forgive him (Malinao), but the law must be applied," Gomez said.

The DPIU is set to file a robbery with homicide case, a heinous crime, against the suspects at the Navotas prosecutors’ office.