MANILA, Philippines — The alleged principal suspect in the murder of a member of the Philippine National Police-Drug Enforcement Group, whose remains were dumped in a septic tank in Bulacan, was arrested in Tagum City, Davao del Norte on Wednesday.
The arrest of Monjeanne Julian Salamat came a day after the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) offered a reward of P1 million in exchange for information leading to the capture of the suspect.
Salamat was collared by members of the Bulacan and Davao police forces at a transportation hub in Barangay Magugpo West.
Col. Angel Garcillano, Bulacan police director, said they received numerous tips on Salamat’s whereabouts after DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla offered the reward on Tuesday.
Salamat was tagged as the gunman in the murder of S/Sgt. Renato Casauay Jr. in Barangay Mojon, Malolos on Jan. 24.
After allegedly killing Casauay, Salamat and his companions hid the policeman’s body in a septic tank.
Garcillano said that police had been tracking Salamat, who fled to Manila and then took a flight to Cebu.
From Cebu, Salamat traveled to Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental where he took a roll-on roll-off bus to Mindanao.
“Based on intelligence monitoring, the suspect has friends in Tagum,” Garcillano said at a news briefing at Camp Crame yesterday.
Police said a gun was found in Salamat’s possession.
Probers have yet to determine if it was the same gun that the suspect used in allegedy killing Casauay.
Garcillano said Salamat tested positive for illegal drugs.
On the same day, an alleged cohort of Salamat, Albert Maglinis, was arrested in Alicia town in Isabela, while another suspect, Marvin Nolasco, surrendered to the Malolos police on Tuesday.
The arrest of Salamat brought to seven the number of suspects who are now in police custody. Four others have yet to be arrested, police said.
The murder of Casauay was reportedly in retaliation for an anti-narcotics operation in December, which resulted in the arrest of a drug dealer and seizure of shabu with an estimated street value of P340,000.
Meanwhile, Garcillano refuted criticisms regarding the arrest of a son of a local journalist in connection with Casauay’s murder.
Quoting extrajudicial confessions by two of the suspects, Garcillano said the journalist and his son were neighbors of Salamat.
He said the two suspects claimed they informed the father and son that someone had been shot dead near their house.
“The son asked his father what to do. The father reportedly said that (the body) should be removed from there as it would emit a stench,” Garcillano said.