Suspect in Ombudsman prosecutor's slay on drugs, PNP says

MANILA, Philippines — The suspect in the killing of a prosecutor with the Office of the Ombudsman tested positive for an unspecified drug, Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde said.

In a press conference on Tuesday, the PNP presented suspect Angelo Galvez Avenido Jr. who is believed to have killed Office of the Ombudsman Assistant Special Prosecutor Madonna Joy Ednaco-Tanyag.

Albayalde said that the suspect tested positive for drug use upon arrest.

Tanyag, who was pregnant, was killed in broad daylight along Visayas Avenue in Quezon City on Monday. According to the police, she was buying milk tea when Avenido robbed her then stabbed her three times.

'Addicts will rob and kill anybody for drugs'

For the PNP chief, the crime is a “clear manifestation” of how a drug addict thinks. “They will rob and kill anybody just for illegal drugs,” Albayalde also said, adding that the suspect also has a case in General Santos City and is known as a long-time user of illegal drugs.

The national police chief said, however, that Avenido is not on the police’s drug watch list.

READ: Pregnant fiscal stabbed dead in Quezon City

Albayalde said that this may be due to Avenido moving houses often. He said that Avenido had just moved back to Metro Manila from General Santos in March.

The police said that a “robbery gone wrong” is the most plausible motive for the crime, but they will continue to probe other angles that may have led to the killing of Tanyag as she was handling graft cases at the Office of the Ombudsman.

The PNP said that Avenido was arrested with the help of security footage and of citizens who identified the suspect through his tattoo.

“All evidence leads to this person. This is not a fall guy,” Chief Superintendent Joselito Esquivel, Quezon City Police District director, said.

Albayalde said that they will file a robbery with homicide case against Avenido, due for inquest at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office. — Kristine Joy Patag