MANILA, Philippines – A man seen in a photograph aiming a gun at a murdered Caloocan councilman moments before he was shot dead on New Year’s Day was arrested in Isabela province Thursday night.
Caloocan City police chief Senior Superintendent Jude Santos said that Arnel Buenaflor, 26, and his girlfriend Loraine Castro, 26, were arrested in Barangay Kalabasa in Aurora, Isabela at around 10 p.m.
“We have already captured five of them. One of the women suspects is Castro, while the other one is Gina Inderes, who was arrested in Tondo also last night,” Santos told The STAR.
Inderes, 32, is the live-in partner of Michael Rollon, 27, one of Buenaflor’s alleged lookouts, who also appeared in a picture taken by the slain Barangay 35 councilman Reynaldo Dagsa, 38.
Rollon was arrested earlier with Frederick Sales, 29, also tagged by witnesses as one of Buenaflor’s accomplices.
Two other suspects – Rommel Oliva and Francis Bronjal – remain at large.
Santos said Buenaflor was still wearing the same cap he used during Dagsa’s murder when he was apprehended by a team led by Chief Inspector Rodrigo Soriano and the Isabela provincial police officers, headed by Superintendent Antonio Marallag.
Soriano and his team were set to bring the suspects to Caloocan City from Isabela yesterday.
Rollon, when shown Buenaflor’s photo aiming a gun while hiding behind a car, said the suspect was about to shoot Dagsa, who was taking pictures of his family.
“I was even surprised when Arnel (Buenaflor) shoved me aside and suddenly pulled a gun and fired at kagawad (Dagsa),” Rollon said when interviewed in his cell at the Caloocan City police station.
Buenaflor told GMA 7 that he does not regret what he did, and that he was satisfied that Dagsa was dead because the councilman reportedly kept on dragging his name in various cases.
Cell phone gave gunman away
According to Soriano, who headed the tracking team, Buenaflor – a 26-year-old billboard installer in Caloocan – lost his cell phone three days ago in a bus he and his partner boarded in going to Aurora town. The cell phone was found by a woman, identity withheld by police, who saw the suspect’s photo in the phone and recognized him as the gunman.
Santos said that “based on the text messages on the confiscated mobile phone, members of the group are also hired guns. One of the messages mentioned two hits last year with money involved. The name of a person which appeared to be the one who hired them was also mentioned.”
According to Santos, Buenaflor’s group are members of the Pasaway gang, held responsible for various crimes in Caloocan.
Santos said the suspects have pending cases in Caloocan City courts and Dagsa was one of the witnesses against them. – With Raymund Catindig, Charlie Lagasca, Perseus Echeminada