Murder Suspect Arrested After 28 Years on the Run

By Jennifer P. Rendon

After 28 years in hiding, a murder suspect was arrested on the afternoon of May 23 in Barangay Manaulan, a remote village in Lambunao, Iloilo.

The suspect, alias Gerry, 59, was apprehended by members of the Lambunao Municipal Police Station through a warrant of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 33 in Iloilo City on Nov. 28, 1997.

No bail was recommended for his temporary release.

Gerry was the primary suspect in a 1997 shooting incident in Barangay Paho, Lambunao, that resulted in the victim’s death.

Following the crime, the suspect fled Iloilo province and reportedly hid in Mindanao for several years.

According to Capt. Jose Winston Biadog, Lambunao police chief, the suspect remained off the radar for nearly three decades.

Last week, the victim’s wife and a key witness visited the police station to report multiple sightings of the suspect in various barangays in Lambunao.

“The wife also asked if the warrant of arrest was still active and enforceable,” Biadog said.

This prompted the Lambunao PNP tracker team to validate the reports and confirm the suspect’s location.

“We eventually confirmed that he was hiding in Barangay Manaulan, where his brother serves as the barangay captain,” Biadog added.

During the arrest, Gerry admitted he was the person named in the warrant but denied the murder charge.

He is now in police custody and will be turned over to the court that issued the warrant.