Cops now have persons of interest in frat leader's slay

CEBU, Philippines —  The police now have persons of interest in the killing of fraternity leader and former barangay councilman Richard Buscayno.

Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla, deputy city director for operations of Cebu City Police Office, said that investigators are now zeroing in on personal grudge as they have already ruled out political rivalry and fraternity war as motives.     

Parilla, however, refused to reveal the identities of the persons of interest pending further investigation. The police are also looking into the possibility of creating a special investigation task group to focus on the case.

Police investigators are now looking for the owner of a suspicious vehicle allegedly blocking Buscayno’s car when two identified motorcycle-riding gunmen shot him on Friday, October 8, along Tres de Abril in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City.

"Mao man to’y rason nga nihunong sya didto nga area…ahead sa iya naay usa ka Fortuner, mura sya og gi-block ba, so atong gi-check kung kani nga sakyanan, apil ba ni siya…we are now checking," said Parilla. 

"And then the same incident happened with the same vehicle way back in 2018... so mao na nga lead as of now nga atong gisunod considering that it happened in the same place and the same na sakyanan," Parilla added. 

Buscayno’s vehicle was also shot at in 2018 but he was not hurt during that time.

Prior to his killing, the fraternity leader reportedly received death threats. However, the family of the victim did not consider his being a frat leader as motive considering that Alpha Kappa Rho (AKRHO) has already made peace with its rival fraternity, Tau Gamma Phi.

"Nagkuyog na sila and they promote peace within our community, so ato na nang gi-disregard, so it's more on personal," said Parilla. 

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Guillermo Eleazar ordered the CCPO on Sunday to immediately solve the killing of Buscayno. — FPL (FREEMAN)