Suspected gunman in Maconacon mayor’s slay arrested

MANILA, Philippines - The alleged gunman in the killing of Maconacon mayor Erlinda Domingo was high on drugs when he was arrested Friday night, according to police officials.

Marsibal Abduhadi was positively identified as the gunman by Domingo’s driver Bernard Plasos, who was shown the suspect’s identification card, and another witness in the shooting in front of the Park Villa apartelle in Barangay West Avenue, Quezon City on Tuesday night.

Abduhadi, alias Bagwis, was incoherent during initial interrogation because he was high on drugs, according to Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Senior Superintendent Richard Albano.

Abduhadi supposedly recruited the other men who staged the killing of Domingo, and police hope he could lead them to the mastermind.

Police raided his house on Basilan street in Salaam Mosque compound in Barangay Culiat hours after the killing, but only his wife Mary Grace was arrested. Abduhadi was arrested at past 10 p.m. on Friday in another house in the same compound.

QCPD deputy director for operations Senior Superintendent Neri Ilagan said four teams were deployed to the compound, and found the suspect with a woman identified as Jennifer de Guzman, his alleged “pot session partner.”

Albano said the suspect was found in possession of an Intratec Ingram pistol, two fragmentation hand grenades, magazines for a .9mm Pratik gun, a magazine for a caliber .22 gun, sachets of suspected cocaine and shabu and other drug paraphernalia.

He said Abduhadi was also involved in the fatal shooting of a Quezon City police officer and a certain Joana Jose last March inside the Muslim compound in Tandang Sora in Quezon City.

In a press briefing yesterday, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas said Domingo’s case is not yet closed despite the arrest of the alleged gunman.

He said unless the gunman reveals the motive and the mastermind, everything “will be pure speculation.” – With Raymond Catindig, Charlie Lagasca, Mike Frialde