RCBC massacre suspect in police custody

MANILA, Philippines - A suspect in the gruesome massacre of 10 people during a bank heist in the southern Philippine province of Laguna last May was turned over to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Thursday. Jake Javier, 23, is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by Judge Marino Rubio, of the Biñan regional trial court branch 24 of Biñan for his alleged involvement in the robbery of the Cabuyao, Laguna branch of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC). Javier was turned over to the PNP by Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Leila de Lima. PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome said Javier will be brought before the court as a procedural action to face robbery with homicide charges. “Investigators looking into the bloody bank heist have established the participation of Javier in the crime,” Bartolome said, adding that state prosecutors have recommended no bail for the suspect’s temporary liberty. Javier has been under CHR protection since July 15, after he sought the agency’s help for fear he would be killed when his name emerged as a suspect in the bank robbery. He is the son of Vivencio Javier, one of four men slain in what police claim was a shootout in Tanauan town, Batangas during operations to arrest the RCBC massacre suspects. - GMANews.TV