Suspect in Cotabato mayor’s killing nabbed

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A suspect in the killing of the vice mayor of Kabacan town in North Cotabato has been arrested. 

Superintendent Leo Ajero, chief of Kabacan police, said the suspect, whom he did not identify so as not to jeopardize ongoing operations against the other suspects, is a suspected drug pusher. 

“He was, in fact, arrested in a buy-bust operation. We have reason to detain and charge him with murder in connection with the brutal killing of Vice Mayor Policronio Dulay because witnesses have positively identified him as one of the vice mayor’s killers,” Ajero told reporters.

Dulay was emerging from a department store when one of two men riding a motorcycle shot him repeatedly with a .45 caliber pistol.  

Dulay, who  is running for a third term in the May elections, was supposed to be pitted against a certain Maidu Sultan.

A P600,000 reward was put up for any information leading to the arrest of Dulay’s killers. The municipal council of Kabacan initially put up P200,000, which was augmented with P200,000 each by Kabacan Mayor George Tan and North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño Mendoza.