MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) has arrested a suspect in the killing of former Pangasinan police chief Marlou Chan, the Pangasinan police announced on Monday, January 13.

In a phone interview with Rappler, Pangasinan Police Provincial Office spokesperson Captain Ria Tacderan identified the suspect as Edwin Ferrer, who police belived could be a part of the group in killing the former general in Calasiao town, Pangasinan.

His role: After Chan was shot at by two of 4 suspects who rode two separate motorcycles, his driver, Juanito Lozada, continued stepping on the gas and asked to stop for directions from a group of people. Ferrer volunteered and insisted to drive and help them.

Lozada agreed as he was not familiar with Calasiao streets. Ferrer drove them to the Villaflor Hospital, where Chan was declared dead. Police said he had 5 entry and exit wounds, the fatal shot being a bullet that passed through his neck.

His past: According to Tacderan, the police ran a background check on Ferrer and found that he had a history of “involvement with gun-for-hire groups.”

Police could not confirm whether he was even convicted of a crime, but Tacderan said that after the background check, they applied for a search warrant for Ferrer’s house, which yielded a .45-caliber pistol and a grenade.

There’s also a person of interest: Tacderan said that just 30 minutes before Chan was killed, he met with Pangasinan-based Indian-Filipino businessman Ashok Vasandani. Vasandani was not arrested, but identified as a person who could help solve the puzzle of the retired cop’s murder. Vasandani is a survivor of an assassination attempt in Pangasinan in February 2018.

Chan and Vasandani apparently met at the Panaderia Antonio, which was 10 minutes by car from the crime scene. It was unclear what the two discussed, but Tacderan noted that Vasandani immediately tuned up at the police station after news broke of Chan’s assassination.

Despite the latest developments, police have not established the motive for Chan’s killing. – Rappler.com