MPD rules out politics in Moreno aide slay

MANILA, Philippines - Police investigators have ruled out politics as a motive for the killing of a utility aide of Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno Thursday morning, an official said yesterday.

“The killing is related to the victim’s personal grudges with the (gunman). There is no possible threat to the security of the vice mayor,” Manila Police District director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rongavilla told The STAR.

Rongavilla said it is only a matter of time before they catch the killer of Jonathan Ignacio, 37. “However, in case he successfully eluded authorities hunting him down, we can file murder charges against him before the court,” he said.

MPD homicide section chief Inspector Armando Macaraeg withheld the identity of the suspect “so as not to jeopardize the ongoing manhunt.”

A follow-up team of homicide probers failed to find the alleged gunman at his residence.

Police said the victim’s brother had figured in a shooting a day before the killing.