3 suspects in kidnap-slays arrested

Three Baguio City-based officers of a regional fraternity were arrested by agents of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) for the killing of University of the Phi-lippines-Baguio students Giancarlo Leung and Tihani Tingal.

PNP chief Director Ge-neral Leandro Mendoza said they have filed a case of kidnapping and aggravated murder against suspects Raymund Testado, Bong Sison and Ronald Domalina after key witnesses tagged the three as the killers of Leung and Tingal.

Mendoza, who said the case was solved, revealed that fraternity rivalry was the motive behind the crime.

Informed of the early solution of the case, President Arroyo immediately promoted Mendoza. She personally conveyed the news to the PNP chief after a press conference on the kidnap-slay case.

The Leung-Tingal case was the seventh kidnap-for-ransom incident investigated by the PNP since Mendoza assumed office on Jan. 22. All seven cases are considered solved.

CIDG director Chief Superintendent Nestorio Gualberto said Domalina was arrested last Friday while Testado and Sison were arrested early morning yesterday.

The suspects, who are officers of the regional fraternity Samahang Ilocano (SI), are now locked up at the CIDG-Baguio detention cell.

A search at the residence of Testado and Sison at Milton House in Puliwes, Ba-guio City yielded four caliber .45 bullets and a clip of 7.62 mm. bullets.

The PNP said Testado, the head of the SI chapter in Baguio City, wanted to kill Leung in retaliation for the abduction of a sorority member affiliated with their group. Leung was the head of the UP-Baguio chapter of the Beta Sigma fraternity.

A breakthrough in the case came when three members of the SI showed up at the 14th Regional CIDG office in Baguio City and tagged Testado as the brains behind Leung’s abduction.

Job Johann Calano, Christopher Ferrer and Jonathan Nibaten claimed they had been tasked earlier by Testado to conduct surveillance on Leung in preparation for a plan to kill the UP student.

In a sworn statement to CIDG investigators, Calano claimed Testado asked him on March 8, 2001 to join the group that would carry out the killing.

The witness said Testado asked him if he "had the guts to salvage Leung."

Calano said he begged off because he had not been comfortable with Testado’s group.

"I was afraid because they might salvage me too, so I didn’t go with them," the witness said. "I know Raymund, he can very well do that."

The bodies of Leung and Tingal were found separately in Mexico, Pampanga on March 11, three days after they were abducted in Baguio City.

Police said Tingal was simply "at the wrong place at the wrong time" when the suspects carried out the plan to get even with Leung. Investigators said the suspects saw an opportunity to make money and demanded a P1-million ransom from the families of their captives. The amount was later brought down to P200,000 but Leung and his girlfriend were killed even before the payoff could take place.

Last week, an angry Mrs. Arroyo ordered all law enforcement agencies to hunt down the kidnappers and killers of the two students, saying authorities would not rest "until justice is served." The President vowed to pursue her administration’s crusade to put an end to kidnap-for-ransom activities.

PNP officials said the Leung-Tingal kidnap-slay was an isolated case, and assured the public that the police organization was on top of the crime situation.

PNP Spokesman Superintendent Rodrigo de Gracia said the early solution of the Leung case "only goes to show that the PNP is "on its toes in preventing and solving similar incidents."