Another suspect in cop’s slay caught

Another suspect in the killing of a policeman from the Eastern Police District (EPD) was arrested Tuesday by agents of the police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF) in Parañaque City.

George Apruebo, did not resist arrest when collared at his house in Purok 2, Silverio Compound, Sun Valley 2 Subdivision by an AIDSOTF team, headed by Senior Inspector Bienvenido Reydado.

The team was armed with an arrest warrant issued by Judge Aida Estrella Macapagal of the Parañaque City Regional Trial Court Branch 195.

Apruebo is one of the five suspects in the killing of PO3 Cornelio Ramel of the EPD last May 5, 2004.

Superintendent Arnold Aguilar, of the AIDSOTF Special Operations Unit 2 said Apruebo belongs to a gang involved in drug trafficking and gunrunning .

Investigation showed that Ramel had stumbled upon the illegal activities of the gang, which liquidated him before the officer could move against them.

According to Aguilar, it was Apruebo who struck Ramel with a dumbbell in the head while another suspect, Jerry Solis, repeatedly stabbed him.

The suspects doused the cop’s body with muriatic acid, placed it in a trash bag and hid it in an abandoned market stall at De Leon’s Compound also in Sun Valley 2.

Solis was arrested last January for illegal possession of prohibited drugs and is detained at the Parañaque City jail.

Another co-accused Edgardo Marquez was arrested January last year. Aguilar and is now detained at the PNP custodial center.

Two other suspects, Rizal Cuenca and Manuel Barreto, died of a heart attack and in a gunbattle during a drug related incident in 2005, respectively.

However, another suspect, SPO1 Nap Cuaresma, was cleared.

Interviewed at his AIDSOTF cell, Apruebo vehemently denied having something to do with Ramel’s murder.

"Hindi ko alam ang pangyayari at wala ako doon. Pinagbintangan lang nila ako," Apruebo said. "Nagulat nga ako ng dinampot ako ng mga pulis."

Apruebo said he would hire a lawyer to prove his innocence in court. – Non Alquitran