Parts of gun used in Batocabe slay found in CamSur septic tank

Parts of the gun used to kill Ako Bicol party-list Representative Rodel Batocabe and his police aide Orlando Diaz have been recovered from a septic tank in Pili, Camarines Sur on Thursday.

According to Benjie Liwanag's report on Super Radyo dzBB, the sliders of a .45 caliber pistol and two magazines used in the Batocabe hit on December 23, 2018 were found in the septic tank of the house of one of the suspects, Rolando Aromado.

The gun reportedly belonged to another the suspects, Emmanuel Rosello alias Boboy.

Other suspects in the Batocabe murder case identified by the police were alleged gunman Henry Yuson, Christopher Cabrera Naval alias Tuping, Danilo Muella alias Manoy Dan and Jaywin Babor alias Jie.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde at a press conference last week said that Yuson threw the murder weapon into a river.

It was in this same press conference that the police presented Yuson as the gunman who killed Batocabe.

“Itong Yuson, siya ang bumaril. 'Di pa narecover ang firearm [na ginamit sa pagpatay] kasi tinapon niya sa ilog [eh]. Kaya may mga divers tayo roon ngayon [sa naghahanap nung baril sa ilog]. Sabi niya, dinismantle niya ang baril at itinapon,” Albayalde said then.

Before Yuson surrendered to authorities, the reward money for anybody who could provide information about the perpetrators of Batocabe's murder has reached P50 million. Of this amount, P30 million was raised by Batocabe's colleagues in Congress, while the P20 million was courtesy of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The police also earlier filed double murder and six frustrated murder charges against Daraga Mayor Carlwyn Baldo and six others who are supposedly employed by the mayor on a confidential status in connection with the murder of Batocabe.

The police accused Baldo of putting a P5 million bounty on Batocabe's life, citing a testimony from a supposed estranged employee of Baldo identified as Emmanuel Judavar.

The police's narrative based on Judavar's account was echoed by Yuson, saying that the mayor ordered the killing of Batocabe but failed to pay them P5 milion as promised which supposedly prompted Judavar to severe his ties from the mayor.

Baldo has denied the charges, saying he did not order death sentence on anybody. —Llanesca T. Panti/NB, GMA News