Criminal charges filed vs suspect in Sumilao peasant leader's murder

MANILA, Philippines – Police filed yesterday criminal charges against a key suspect in the killing of Renato Peñas, a peasant leader in Sumilao, Bukidnon.

Northern Mindanao Police Regional director Chief Superintendent Danilo Empedrad said Alipio Tumangday, a resident of San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon was formally charged with murder and double frustrated murder before the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Bukidnon.

Tumangday is believed to be one of three gunmen who shot and killed Peñas during an ambush on June 6, in San Vicente, Sumilao.

Empedrad said Tumangday was identified by a surviving witness as among the attackers who opened fire at them with shotguns.

The witness recognized Tumangday when the attackers were illuminated by the headlights of the Peñas’ motorcycle. The witness and another wounded victim, Eliezer Peñas, were both backriders in Peñas’ motorcycle when they were attacked.

Dollete told police investigators it was Tumangday who gave the command “Tirohi na,” just before shots were fired at their direction.

Tumangday was promptly arrested in Barangay Maluko, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon some eight hours after the attack. Two more suspects remain at-large and are now the subject of follow-up operations.

Empedrad denied claims by a lawyer that Tumangday’s arrest was done in haste.

“There was no undue haste in arresting Tumangday, but the incident was just promptly acted upon by police responders who acted on the information provided by the surviving victim/complainant,” said Empedrad.

Police have established that Tumangday had a serious grudge against Peñas and the wounded victim Samson Dollete who are both complaining witnesses in a case for qualified theft filed against the suspect by a certain John Calopes, a case that stemmed from Tumangday’s action of cutting down and uprooting fruit trees and other crops in Calopes’ farm where Tumangday is reportedly a squatter.

Investigators also established that Tumangday had an axe to grind against Peñas because the latter has been helping farmer beneficiaries in evicting Tumangday from the 19-hectare property that had been awarded to seven farmer-beneficiaries including Dollete. – With Dennis Carcamo