CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Mayor Oscar Moreno urged the public to wait for the final outcome of the police investigation into the killing of prominent medical practitioner Dr. Raul Winston Andutan.

“There are many angles that need to be investigated. We should not jump to conclusions right away,” Moreno said.

Moreno said the public should give the police some leeway to check and double check the statements of the suspects.

Police arrested a fourth suspect in Villanueva town, Misamis Oriental late Friday afternoon, December 3.

Major Evan Viñas, spokesperson of the Cagayan de Oro Police Office said 63-year-old Felipe Tingabngab Entira was arrested at the bus terminal in Vilanueva town as he tried to escape from the police dragnet.

Viñas said the arrest of Entira, who allegedly acted as a lookout in the ambush slay, brought the number of suspects to four.

The alleged ringleader of the gunmen, identified as former soldier Rene Tortosa, was able to escape the police who conducted the raid in their hideout in Balingoan town on Friday morning.

Viñas said the three suspects who were arrested on Friday were brought to Police Station 9 in Barangay Nazareth.

He said two caliber .45 pistols with magazine and several live ammunition and one hand grenade were seized from the suspects.

Viñas said the murder weapon was taken by the fleeing Tortosa.

PNP Northern Mindanao chief Benjamin Acorda Jr. said the dramatic arrests less than 24 hours after the ambush were made possible by footage from CCTV cameras in the junction of 12^th street and 29^th streets that caught the suspects fleeing in a motorcycle.

Acorda said the CCTV caught the suspects fleeing towards Adela Subdivision in Barangay Camaman-an.

He said residents in Adela Subdivision pointed to an apartment where they saw a motorcycle similar to the one driven by the suspects.

Police raided the apartment and arrested Marjun Cabug who allegedly stayed behind in the apartment as Joel Nacua and JOmar Adlao went to Balingoan to get the P150,000 they were supposed to get for killing Andutan.

Cabug reportedly squealed, prompting the police to deploy a team to Balingoan town to make the arrests.

“We again reiterate, our sincere appreciation to the community for their information. Let us continue helping one another especially in resolving crimes,” Acorda said.

Acorda and investigators have kept mum on the possible motive of the killing of Andutan pending the outcome of their investigation.

– Rappler.com

Froilan Gallardo is a Mindanao-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship.