Another suspect in Christine Silawan's slay arrested

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A 42-year-old suspect in the gruesome murder of 16-year-old Christine Lee Silawan in Cebu was arrested on Tuesday.

Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas said they would coordinate with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Central Visayas office before identifying the suspect.

Sinas said the suspect, a resident of Lapu-Lapu City,  yielded an unlicensed firearm.

Police said the suspect, who is also on the drug watchlist, executed an extrajudicial confession that he killed Silawan, but refused to give details.

“He was identified because he appeared in CCTVs (closed-circuit television cameras)... One of our agents and a civilian pointed to where he was hiding,” Sinas said.

Silawan was found dead in a vacant lot in Barangay Bankal in Lapu-Lapu City last month. Her body bore 20 stab wounds while her face was skinned and some of her internal organs were missing.

A student of Maribago High School, Silawan was reported missing by her mother when she failed to return home after serving as a church collector.

Director Tomas Enrile of the NBI regional office said the arrest of the suspect is a positive development even as he vowed to pursue the case against Silawan’s 17-year-old former boyfriend.

“We have evidence... We have presented the evidence in court. It will not be affected, it’s in the prosecutor’s office,” Enrile said, referring to Silawan’s boyfriend. - THE FREEMAN