Gunman in murder of teacher arrested

CEBU, Philippines – One of the two men who shot and killed a public school teacher in Minglanilla, Cebu was arrested by the police in Barangay Pitalo, San Fernando town at past 10 p.m. last Monday.

San Fernando police arrested Maximo Tanudtanud, 29, of Barangay Balungag, who served as the driver of the get-away motorcycle after killing Serafin Villahermosa, 36, inside the Tubod Elementary School in July 20.

Insp. Carlos Reyes of the San Fernando Police said his men went to the area where Tanudtanud was spotted by a concerned citizen playing a card game locally called tong-its.

The suspect tried to resist arrest. At the police station, he was frisked and a caliber .357 magnum revolver and two sachets of white substance suspected to be shabu were taken from him.

At least two witnesses were taken to the police station and identified the suspect as the one who drove the motorcycle.

Senior Supt. Erson Digal, Director of CCPO, said the suspect was recently released from jail for a frustrated murder case. The suspect was also identified as the one who robbed a woman of her income after selling a cow some time this year.

Reyes said the suspect is involved in a series of crimes in their area which include robbery, hold-up, and snatching. He had also escaped from the detention cell before.

Digal said that right now, they have also identified the triggerman and is already hunting him down so they could identify the mastermind.

The suspect denied the accusation that he killed the teacher, saying he was inside his house when the incident happened. He also accused the police of planting the gun and the shabu. He said he was just playing tong-its when a police pointed a gun at him and arrested him.

It was believed that the killing of Villahermosa was related to the death of his sister-in-law, Lalaine Jore, in February last year.

Jore's father submitted an affidavit to the Cebu City Prosecutor's Office last March 8, accusing the husband of former San Fernando Mayor Lakambini Reluya of being the mastermind in the killing of his daughter last year. (THE FREEMAN)