Another suspect in FX slay surrenders

Another suspect in the killing of a call center employee during an FX taxi robbery last April 2 surrendered last Tuesday to the Pasig City police.

Rodeo Bartolome, 26, also insisted he did not have anything to do with the killing of Charlene Santos, 27.

However, Senior Superintendent Romeo Abaring, Pasig City police chief said they can continue holding Bartolome in jail because he is the subject of arrest warrants in three cases of robbery-snatching and attempted homicide and grave threats.

Abaring said a total of P348,000 bail was set by various courts for Bartolome’s temporary liberty.

He and alleged gunman Ryan Concuera, 22, were identified by witnesses from police files of known criminals as among three men who pulled off the FX robbery in Barangay Rosario last Sunday night.

The taxi driver claimed Concuera shot Santos in the nape with a caliber .45 automatic pistol as she kept on pleading for the three suspects not to take her cell phone.

No witnesses have surfaced to testify against Bartolome.

"We contacted the passengers at the time of the robbery for a confrontation with Bartolome, but not one of them agreed to testify out of fear for their lives," Abaring lamented.

The Pasig City police chief filed robbery with homicide charges against Concuera yesterday with the Pasig City prosecutor’s office.

Concuera and Bartolome were also subjected to a drug test at the crime laboratory of the Philippine National Police in Camp Crame.

A passenger on the taxi earlier pointed to Bartolome as among the three gunmen after looking at police photos.

Concuera was sleeping when arrested by Abaring’s men inside his house at the Rodriguez compound in Barangay Rosario at 8:30 p.m. last Monday.

Abaring said Bartolome’s mother coordinated with him for the surrender of her son after learning that he was being sought for the robbery-slay.

A team headed by SPO3 Isidro Mariano Jr., of the local police warrant section, picked up Bartolome at his house in Barangay Kapasigan.

"Tulad ni Concuera, wala rin daw siyang kinalaman sa kaso ni Santos," Abaring said.

Meanwhile, Santos’ parents, Loreto and Elma, both teachers at the Don Mariano Marcos State University in Ilocos Norte, thanked Abaring for the early solution to their daughter’s slay.

"Natuwa ang mga magulang ng bata dahil maaga nating nahuli si Concuera na itinuturong gunman ni Charlene," Abaring said.

Santos remains were brought to her hometown in Laoag City yesterday. "The only wish of the couple was for her daughter’s fellow passengers to surface and testify in the case so Bartolome can also be placed behind bars for good," Abaring said.