Suspect in Chinoy’s kidnap-slay surfaces to clear name

La Trinidad, Benguet – The alleged "brains" in the kidnap-slay of a Filipino-Chinese businessman on March 18 reportedly "surfaced" to clear his name.

Paul "Banjo" Leyaley Sumbad, 28, reportedly nabbed on Sunday in Pasay City by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Region 2, claimed in several text messages right before his arrest that he was coming out to set the record straight and clear the names of those dragged into the case.

A night before his supposed arrest, Sumbad broke his silence when he reportedly sent a text message to a Baguio-based journalist saying he will answer the charges against him in court and will prove how authorities fabricated the charges.

The National Anti-kidnapping Task Force (NAKTAF) tagged Sumbad as the brains in the Loy kidnap-slay and reportedly financed the operation of the kidnap gang.

NBI Regional Director Jose Limmayog, however, insisted that Sumbad was arrested after he was cornered in Pasay City. He said they trailed him from his hideout in Isabela and finally caught him in Manila.

Limmayog is the head of the NBI Task Force created by NBI chief Reynaldo Wycoco to verify the reported involvement of NBI-Cordillera in the kidnap-slay.

Sumbad is reportedly a confidential agent of the NBI.

Senior Superintendent Eugene Martin, spokesman of the Cordillera police said Sumbad’s arrest "is a very healthy development in law enforcement."

"It goes to show that if everybody cooperates, nobody can hide from the law forever, " he said.