Cop in HS students' slay to surrender - Pacer

BALUNGAO, Pangasinan, Philippines  – The chief of the Police Anti Crime Emergency Response (PACER) said one of his men accused in the gun-slaying of three high school students here Friday will surrender to Pangasinan police to face his accusers.

Senior Superintendent Isagani Nerez, PACER chief, told The STAR yesterday that he is coordinating with Senior Superintendent Rosueto Ricaforte, Pangasinan police director, for the surrender of SPO2 Loreto Florendo who was tagged in the killing of Paul Bryan Villapa, Bryan Luna and Mike Sapili, all 14 years old and third-year high school students of Balungao National High School.

“He (Florendo) is more than willing to face his accusers,” Nerez said.

Florendo is assigned at PACER in Mindanao.

With Florendo’s surrender, Nerez said he is confident that the truth will come out. “It is my obligation to see to it that justice would be served to the oppressed,” he said.

Police earlier arrested and filed three counts of murder and frustrated murder against Domingo de Jesus and his brothers Jovito and Saturnino, aged 38, 36 and 30 respectively, and residents of Barangay San Raymundo here and Florendo for the murders.

Meanwhile, Dr. Viraluz Raguindin, schools superintendent of Pangasinan Division 2, said Education Secretary Armin Luistro wants to ensure that the studies of the survivor, RJ Sobrevilla, a classmate of the slain victims, will continue.

Luistro talked to Sobrevilla and his parents Sunday night when he came here to personally condole with the victim’s families. He said he wants the survivor to be given debriefing, guidance counseling and psychiatric assistance because of the traumatic experience he had gone through.

He added that he wants Sobrevilla to transfer to another school to give him a new environment.

Raguindin said the Department of Education Pangasinan Division 2 will soon come out with its statement to express its disgust over the incident and and sympathy with the innocent victims whose lives were sacrificed because of a grudge that did not involve them.

Police investigation showed that suspects were angry at the father of one of the victims, who allegedly knew of the killing of their brother in Tarlac a month ago.