Police release suspect in killing of Cavite reporter

The police on Tuesday released the suspect in the killing of journalist Rubylita "Rubie" Garcia after the victim's son said he was not the gunman.

A report on “24 Oras” quoted Garcia's son as saying that the suspect presented to them was not the “hitman.”

The report did not identify the suspect.



Meanwhile, Superintendent Conrado Villanueva, who is being implicated in the killing, has denied involvement in the crime, the report said.

Villanueva has already been relieved of his post as chief of police of Tanza, Cavite.

Garcia, a reporter for Remate tabloid, was shot dead by three armed men outside her house in Bacoor, Cavite last Sunday.

If Garcia's killing was work-related, she would be the 160th journalist to be killed in the country since 1986, according to the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines.

Both the National Press Club, of which Garcia was a member, and the International Federation of Journalists had condemned the killing. —Rie Takumi/KBK/KG, GMA News