Bureau of Corrections guard slain in lawyer’s condo

MANILA, Philippines - A Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) guard was shot dead in a condominium unit in Malate, Manila owned by a losing mayoral candidate of Claveria, Cagayan yesterday morning.

The body of Jail Officer 1 Tristan Cultivo, who was shot twice in the head, was discovered in the Burgundy Condominium unit of former mayoral candidate and lawyer Vladimir Bugaring at past 5 a.m.

Cultivo arrived at Burgundy at about 11 p.m. on Friday. He was last seen alive with Bugaring and the lawyer’s two male companions.

“The two other unidentified male persons were in the condominium with the suspect prior to the victim’s arrival,” Superintendent Romeo Odrada, Malate police station commander, told The STAR. 

He identified Bugaring as a suspect in Cultivo’s killing and said investigators are looking for him since he has not returned to his condominium unit.

The gunman has not been identified, he added.

Odrada said the three men had just left the building when roving security guards discovered bloodstains outside Bugaring’s door on the 25th floor. 

When police opened the door, they saw Cultivo’s body near the door, with his government-issued .45 caliber pistol on his chest.

According to Cultivo’s widow, Beth, her husband and Bugaring met in Far Eastern University’s law school. The victim was the suspect’s student and later became Bugaring’s employee. 

In a separate interview, the victim’s father Roger, 62, said the lawyer and his son were “very close” until they had a falling out recently.

“Their friendship was sweeter than sugar then they had that quarrel,” Roger told The STAR in Filipino. He added that it was not clear why the two fought, though Bugaring had wanted Cultivo to always be by his side.

Beth said the two had a falling out last year but her husband never discussed the reasons behind it. “But they apparently reconciled last December,” she said.

Roger said no one in their family knew Cultivo would be dropping by Bugaring’s unit as the victim told Beth that he would be going to work.

“Where is Bugaring now? My son was found dead in his unit,” he said.