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CABANATUAN CITY: Police declared as solved on Tuesday the
twin-slay of the elected mayor and vice-mayor of Lupao after a
composite team from the central intelligence and investigation
branch and San Jose City police arrested one of the principal
suspects.
Provincial director Senior Supt. Agripino Javier
identified the suspect as Maximo de la Rosa, originally of Barangay
San Francisco, San Antonio, Nueva Ecija, arrested in his residence
in Pulilan, Bulacan.
Eyewitnesses positively identified de la Rosa as
one of the seven gunmen who shot on Mayor-elect Alfredo Vendivil and
his cousin, Vice- Mayor-elect Virgilio Venvivil at the San Jose City
cockpit arena in San Jose City at about 11:30 p.m. on June 15, 2007,
Javier said.
Javier said the operatives, led by PIIB head,
Chief Insp. Alex Mariano and San Jose City police chief, Supt.
Sidney Villaflor, traced the whereabouts of the suspect after some
people identified the perpetuator suspect from an artist’s sketch.
Two of the remaining suspects at large were identified as Arvin
Yasay and Abraham Esteban, both residents of San Jose City.
Yasay, The Manila Times learned, is also the
suspect behind the ambush of ABS-CBN provincial correspondent Butch
Gamboa late last year.
There was no previous case linked to the
suspect.
Police have filed double murder charges
against the suspects.
Javier also declared the killing “really
political,” based on the names of the suspects as well as the
people who contacted the gunmen.
De la Rosa, it turned out, was paid P30,000 for
the killing.
He refused to answer questions from the media
during the press presentation on Monday.
--Armand M. Galang
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