Cops say lotto slay was plain robbery

It was plain and simple robbery.

The woman from Antipolo who won P19.6 million in the lottery had nothing to do with the murder of her husband.

Arturo Eufemia turned out to have been killed by robbers who were inadvertently tipped off by no less than the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), police said yesterday.

Antipolo City police chief Superintendent Jose Dayco said his men rounded up eight suspects in the Oct. 27 killing of Eufemia, whose widow Leticia, 52, won P19.6 million in the lottery drawn on Oct. 12. The other suspects remain at large.

The arrests were made only hours after Leticia submitted herself to police questioning to clear herself of accusations that she had her husband killed so she could keep her lotto winnings to herself.

Dayco said Leticia had tried to keep her lotto win a secret, but the PCSO had announced that the P19.6 million was won by a woman from Nazarene Ville in Barangay San Roque, Antipolo City.

The PCSO announcement spread throughout their neighborhood, tipping off the robbers who even attended Arturo’s birthday celebration the night before he was killed.

Dayco identified the suspects as Francisco Aregue, 26; Samuel Giba, 40; Lito Abarico, 43; Joselito Rose, 39; Luisito Caindoy, 31 and Aurelio Omega, 31, all of Townville Subdivision in Sitio Tagbac, Barangay San Jose; and Rolando Velasco, 36, and Renato Pasonado, 23; of Barangay Manbugan.

Dayco said Velasco and Aregue pointed to each other as the brains behind the robbery-killing.

Dayco said case investigator Senior Police Officer 1 Felipe Matias broke the case on Wednesday after he was informed at around 8 p.m. that the Eufemias’ stolen Toyota Grandia, with conduction sticker 63XLE, was spotted under Giba’s house.

The vehicle, costing around P1.3 million, was covered with several blankets and rusted galvanized iron roofing sheets.

Matias and several other policemen rushed to arrest Giba, Pasonado and Velasco at about 11 p.m. Wednesday and later questioned them on the identities and whereabouts of their accomplices.

Before dawn yesterday, the Antipolo police were in custody of all eight men and had pieced together the robbery-murder case.

It turned out that after news of the Eufemias’ lotto winnings spread like wildfire through their neighborhood, Velasco and Aregue hatched their plan to rob the Eufemias.

The victim’s son, Renan, told police that Velasco and Aregue were among the guests at Arturo’s birthday party on Oct. 25. The party was held at the back of their house, which was undergoing major renovation.

Arturo bought a roasted calf and four roasted pigs and partied with his guests until 1 a.m. of Oct. 26. But later that day, Arturo again hosted a drinking session with friends at the back of their house. The party again ended at around 1 a.m. of Oct. 27.

Dayco said Leticia was angered by her husband’s nightly drinking sprees with friends and relatives since they won the lotto jackpot and left with her daughter Melanie later that Sunday.

Arturo, a former taxi driver, again hosted another drinking session at the back of their house that Sunday, again ending at around 1 a.m. of Oct. 28.

After Arturo’s drinking session, six of the suspects barged into his house to rob him. The others served as lookouts.

But Arturo, who had just purchased a caliber .45 pistol, chose to shoot it out with the suspects and managed to hit Velasco on the shoulder. Another suspect fired and hit Eufemia thrice in the body. He died on the spot.

Matias said Velasco has not received medical treatment for his gunshot wound because he was afraid he would be traced by lawmen.

"Nangingitim na nga yung balikat kasi hindi pa naaalis yung bala (His shoulder was already turning black because the bullet had not yet been removed)," Matias said.

The perpetrators ransacked the house before taking off with the victim’s brand new Toyota Grandia van, a black attaché case full of documents and a still undetermined amount of money.

Meanwhile, PCSO chairman Ma. Livia de Leon said she will propose the creation of an advisory council to prevent a similar incident.

De Leon said most lotto winners are "disoriented" upon receiving their prizes and most of them do not know how to spend their new-found fortunes.

"We always advise lotto winners to deposit their money in the bank," De Leon said.

She said the advisory council, composed of members of the winner’s community, will advise the winners on how to invest their money.

De Leon said since the online lotto was launched in 1995, more than 600 players have won jackpot prizes ranging from P3 million to P145 million. The biggest lotto jackpot amounted to P202 million last month and was won by six people from various parts of the country. - With Perseus Echeminada