Suspect in ABS-CBN cameraman’s slay falls

MANILA, Philippines - After more than two years in hiding, a suspected hired gun – tagged in the murder of a television cameraman – was arrested in Quezon City Sunday afternoon.

Benjie Bate, 31, was nabbed after showing up in the neighborhood in Novaliches where ABS-CBN cameraman Juan Torregoza was slain in 2010, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Senior Superintendent Richard Albano said.

He said the arrest was on the strength of a warrant issued on Dec. 6, 2012 by Judge Maria Felomino Singh of the Regional Trial Court Branch 35 for murder, with no bail recommended.

Albano said policemen and barangay officials arrested Bate at around 2 p.m. Sunday in front of his house in Barangay Sauyo, Novaliches.

QCPD Station 4 commander Superintendent Virgilio Fabian said Bate had been wanted for Torregoza’s death on Dec. 19, 2010 in nearby Barangay Sta. Lucia. Bate disappeared after Torregoza’s killing.

On Monday last week, Fabian – who had just assumed his post as commander of the QCPD Station 4 – met with the village chairman of Barangay Sauyo.

Fabian has been making the rounds of barangays, asking officials about “suspicious and problematic” personalities in their areas. It was during the meeting on Monday when Bate’s name cropped up.

Surveillance

Fabian said that Bate, after being gone for a long time, returned to his old neighborhood, “brandishing a rifle during a neighborhood drinking session Sunday before I met with the village chairman.”

What followed was a week of surveillance, with policemen monitoring the community for possible sighting of the suspect. On Sunday afternoon, Bate was spotted again in the barangay and policemen quickly went to the area to arrest him.

Fabian said Bate had also been linked to the killing of another QCPD policeman, identified as SPO4 Fortunato Nazareno, in 2001. He said they have yet to talk to the late policeman’s family to confirm the report.