Bacalla slay suspect to yield?

The alleged mastermind in the kidnap-slay of the son of a Quezon City judge who escaped from the custody of two jailguards last week has sent surrender feelers, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said yesterday.

Perez revealed a "very reliable source" called him up to arrange the surrender of Onopfre "Jun" Surat, one of the three suspects in the May 3 killing of 24-year-old Mark Henry Bacalla, son of late Judge Marciano Bacalla.

"Surat sent surrender feelers through very, very reliable source. But I won’t reveal his name yet. But it’s not Surat himself. So I passed it on to National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Reynaldo Wycoco," he said. "Somebody contracted me last night (Monday evening), twice. This is very reliable. According to him, Surat wants to surrender. For the meantime, we have a hold departure order (HDO) against him."

Surat, owner of CBR Club in Fairview, Quezon City escaped from the East Avenue Medical Center last June 29 when two jail officers and two US Embassy personnel identified as Maryanne Caparas and Michael Newbill Anthony, took him for a medical check-up.

The court arraignment of Surat and his co-accused Rodrigo Catungal, 22, and Jerro Garcia, 22, will be held today at the sala of Quezon City Judge Monina Zeñarosa.

Sources said the US Embassy, through American Citizens Services chief Paul Boyd, could have helped Surat, a naturalized US citizen, escape. – Delon Porcalla