Activist, school exec slain by same hitmen?

MANILA, Philippines - A Manila Police District (MPD) official has ordered a manhunt for two brothers who are suspected of killing an activist in Tondo, Manila last month and a Manila school official earlier this year.

MPD Station 1 commander Alexander Navarette, acting on the orders of Mayor Alfredo Lim, said yesterday he has dispatched a team to Barangay Buntay in Oras, Eastern Samar to track down Benjamin and Raffy Tejas, watchmen of Barangay 105 Zone 8, the main suspects in the killing of Marilou Valle in Sitio Damayan on July 22.

Navarette said while Raffy has been spotted in Oras, Benjamin remains missing.

Witnesses said Valle’s body lay on the street for more than two hours after she was killed because the suspects reportedly threatened those who came near the body. The suspects also reportedly tried to kill Valle’s brother, Jerry Bacani, 64, and his son the same day but both were able to escape even if they were badly wounded.

“The suspects are also wanted in Samar for several murder cases and they have been the subject of a manhunt of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). They are armed and dangerous,” Navarette told The STAR.

A check with the NBI showed that Benjamin is wanted for murder since September 1998 and was also a suspect in a separate killing in 2009, while Raffy has a standing warrant for murder since 2008.

Navarette said he could not understand why the two have managed to evade the law and were able to become barangay tanods in their community. He said he has information that the two are hitmen and have been involved in several killings in Manila and Eastern Samar.

A source at the MPD said the Tejas brothers may also be behind the killing of Noel Cabrera, vice president of the Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology in Sta. Mesa in May as the brothers and EARIST president Eduardo Caillo – whom police are eyeing as a suspect though no charges have so far been filed – belong to the same province.

Navarette said those who have information on the whereabouts of the Tejas brothers may contact the MPD Police Station through landlines 253-68-06 or 252-3093 or send a text message to 0929-3346925.