3 suspects in Ramento slay now in gov't custody

Three suspects in the murder of Aglipayan Bishop Alberto Ramento have fallen into government custody following successive operations Thursday evening, officials said. Central Luzon police director Chief Supt. Ismael Rafanan refused to name the three, but radio station dzRH identified one of those arrested as Michael "Bembol" Quitalig, 22. "The three suspects were arrested in separate operations in different areas in Central Luzon," dzBB radio quoted Rafanan as saying Friday. On the other hand, dzRH radio reported that police arrested Quitalig before dawn Friday in his aunt's house in Arayat town in Pampanga, after Quitalig's parents led them there. "We sent him to his aunt's house in Pampanga. We tried to get our son away from his friends last September 28 so he would not get into trouble because he's been hanging out with troublemakers," Quitalig's mother Teresita told dzRH radio. Teresita said she and her husband sought the help of dzRH correspondent Jing Dizon after learning that Michael had been named along with Efren Abaya and Rommel Villanueva as the suspects in the Ramento killing. Abaya and Villanueva, who goes by the nickname Raymond Tagalog, have no known permanent address, police said. Police linked the gang to two earlier robberies at Ramento's church in Tarlac City. Michael had just gotten out of the provincial jail for the last two months after serving time for cell phone snatching. Ramento was found dead inside his convent before dawn Tuesday with several stab wounds in different parts of the body. Police claim his killing stemmed from a robbery but various groups believe the murder may have been politically-motivated. City officials had offered a reward of P50,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspects. Problematic child Quitalig's mother, Teresita, admitted that her son is a "problematic" child who hangs around with drug dependents. "We sent him to Pampanga because he was hanging out with rugby boys and drug addicts. We also want to make sure he has the chance to clear his name," she said over dzRH radio. A police team went to Pampanga about 2 a.m. Friday. After negotiations, a joint Pampanga-Tarlac police team went to Michael, who finished only elementary school because of his "rugby" addiction. "He's the only problematic child we have," Teresita said of Michael, who is second to the eldest of a brood of nine. - GMANews.TV