8 nabbed for bloody demolition in Cavite

DASMARIÑAS, Cavite — Police have arrested eight suspects for the violent demolition of 150 squatter shanties here Monday night, where a pregnant woman was fatally shot.

The arrest came three hours after three months’ pregnant Marilyn Mil, 21, was shot dead by a group of armed men who demolished and burned shanties on a 4.5-hectare lot owned by one Philip Camara in Fatima I, Barangay Bagong Bayan here.

The armed men indiscriminately fired gunshots in the air, wounding three other persons and sending the other residents scampering for safety.

Chief Inspector John Cresencio Bulalacao, Dasmariñas police chief, identified the arrested suspects as Mariano de Leon Jr., 40; Edgardo Fauni, 47; Hilario Cantimbuhan, 61; Crisardo Lara, 48; Arcadio Javalera, 53; Edgar Bugada, 30; Federico Camia, 58; and Eman Alison, 26.

Dasmariñas Mayor Pidi Barzaga accompanied Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao, Cavite police director, in presenting the suspects to Chief Superintendent Domingo Reyes Jr., Southern Tagalog police director, to disprove rumors that they were his private goons.

Bulalacao told reporters that the suspects belonged to the so-called "Spider gang," reportedly involved in illegal gambling and gun-for-hire activities.

Barzaga denied having coddled the suspects, particularly De Leon, the group’s alleged leader who had four warrants of arrest for murder, grave threats and illegal possession of firearms.

Bulalacao earlier reported that most of the suspects were members of the civilian security unit of former Cavite Gov. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., some of whom were retained by Gov. Ayong Maliksi.

He said the suspects were arrested inside a shanty near the demolition site early Tuesday morning or about three hours after the bloody incident.

Seized from them were three caliber .45 pistols, a Carbine, two 9 mm pistols, two shotguns, a caliber .38 revolver and a fragmentation grenade.