Boracay tribal leader murder suspect nabbed

CEBU, Philippines - Police collared a former security guard who was tagged in the killing of a tribal community leader in Boracay on February last year.

Daniel Celestino, a resident of Brgy. Manoc-Manoc, Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan, was arrested in Laguna province around 10:40 p.m. of Tuesday.

Members of the Regional Intelligence Division-6, led by Chief Insp. Ferjen Torred, arrested Celestino by virtue of an arrest warrant for murder docketed under Criminal Case No. 11134 dated October 1, 2013.

Celestino was named suspect in the killing of Dexter Condez, then 26, community organizer of the Boracay Ati Tribal Organization (BATO).

The victim, together with two female companions, was on his way home when a lone gunman pumped bullets from a .9mm pistol.

Even earlier, Fr. Arnold Crisostomo, parish priest of Boracay, believed that a land conflict could have triggered the incident, which could be related to the harassment of the Ati community on Nov. 4, 2012.

At least 20 armed men, who are said to be working for a businessman in Boracay Island, allegedly stormed and hounded the villagers.

On Jan. 21, 2011, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) awarded the certificate of ancestral domain title (CADT) to 40 families belonging to BATO. But several businessmen have questioned its legality.

One of them, a known businessman, asserted that he owned a portion of the lot after he brought it from a certain Rudy Banico.

But Crisostomo said the Ati community, more than anyone else, has the right over Boracay considering that they were the first dwellers of the island.

Only last week, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas ordered for the deployment of additional policemen to beef up the security of the tribal community in Boracay.  — (FREEMAN)