PNP eyes three suspects in slay of Negros judge

BACOLOD CITY ,Philippines  — Authorities now have three suspects in the ambush-slay of Kabankalan City Judge Henry Arles who was gunned down in Ilog town, Negros Occidental on April 24.

Senior Supt. Allan Guisihan, Negros Occidental Police director, said witnesses saw three persons aboard a tricycle, including the driver, tailing the Nissan Sentra vehicle driven by Arles, and made a U-turn to the north direction after the shooting.

Guisihan said investigators believed the three suspects were the gun man and a man and a woman who did a stakeout on Arles from 3 p.m. until he went out of the RTC building last Tuesday, the day he was killed.

Police theorized that when Arles went out of the building, the two “lookouts” then rode a tricycle that was already waiting near the building, and followed the victim, Guisihan said.

Arles, 62, succumbed to three gunshot wounds after the assailant shot him with a .45 caliber pistol. The gunman also fled using a tricycle in Brgy. Manalad Ilog.

Guisihan said the police have distributed the sketches of the two “lookouts” in the barangays of southern Negros Occidental so informants could tip the police of any sightings of the suspects. The two “lookouts” looked like they were from far-flung areas, although the police believed the suspects are still in Negros Occidental, he said.

The Task Group Arles has so far saw the victim had no enemies who might have wanted him dead, and Guisihan surmised that the suspects may be hired killers and the primary motive of the killing was work-related.

In related development, Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez had announced on Friday that the high court is giving P100,000 reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects and another P100,000 upon conviction of the accused, Guisihan said.

The Arles family is also putting up a cash reward for the arrest of the suspects, although no specific amount was disclosed yet, he said.

There are two teams of police investigators, one of which is running after the two “spotters” of the assassins, and another team scrutinizing court records as well as controversial cases resolved by Arles, said Guisihan, adding that the NBI has joined the Task Group for the speedy resolution of the case.

President Benigno Aquino had ordered DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo to investigate the murder of the judge, while Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona and Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Maranon Jr. also ordered the police to arrest the suspects immediately.

Chief Supt. Cipriano Querol Jr., Police Regional Office-6 director, ordered Guisihan to hasten the investigation.

Arles, who had received various awards in his 13 years as Kabankalan RTC judge, was the first judge in Negros Occidental to be ambushed and killed, authorities said.

The judge will be laid to rest tomorrow morning at the Rolling Hills Memorial Park in Bacolod.  Danny B. Dangcalan