After 3 years, cops nab suspect
in Isabela massacre

After three years, police have arrested the suspected mastermind of the murder of a wealthy family in Isabela province in northern Philippines. Police arrested Ramelito Ibañez, 25, a driver who was linked to the massacre of his employers, the wealthy Romero family, in Aurora town in Isabela. "We arrested him in Barangay (village) Kurbaga, Papaingan town in Masbate. We intend to question him about the motive for the crime," Supt. Baltazar Ismael, police chief of Aurora town, said in a radio interview. Ismael and Chief Inspector Antonio Maranlac, head of the town police's special operations group, led the operation, acting on the basis of a tip. The suspect will likely be presented to local media Sunday, Ismael said. At least two other employees of the Romero family - three of them young children - were arrested earlier for the crime, but both denied plotting the murder. GMANews.TV