2 suspects in couple's slay surrender

CEBU - Two of the three suspects in the slaying of a couple in Alcoy town surrendered to the Regional Intelligence Office last Monday.

SPO1 Primitivo Carungay of the Alcoy police said Estellito Alabat alias “Abat,” 20, and a 17-year-old boy, surrendered to RIO with the help of an agency asset who is a relative of one of the suspects.

The third suspect, identified only as “Ardabo,” remains at large.

Epifanio Madaiton, 40, and his wife Jocelyn, 37, both farmers, were shot to death in the presence of their two children late afternoon last October 9 while on their way home from a seminar conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Carungay said the two suspects admitted killing the couple but did not give a specific reason for doing so.

The victims’ 12-year-old daughter first identified Alabat as one of the gunmen, alleging that he constantly asked for “tong” from the sales of her family’s vegetables.

But Carungay said they are also verifying reports that the shooting might be ritualistic, as the suspects are reportedly members of a cult.

The suspects reportedly admitted that their group has chants and spells that could make them untouchable even by bullets and blades. However, this invulnerability reportedly also requires from them certain sacrifices.

The 12-year-old daughter said she was walking behind her father at the time of the incident when one of the suspects brushed her aside.

She did not immediately see what the suspects were holding until she heard gunshots and her father slumped to the ground.

Her younger sister, whom their father carried at his back, was severely bruised when she hit the ground when her father fell.

The witness said she immediately hid behind some bushes but still saw her mother being shot and falling to the water in the nearby creek where she managed to run. —Ferliza C. Contratista/JMO (THE FREEMAN)