ILOILO City – The No. 1 most wanted person in the MIMAROPA region (Region 4-B or Southern Tagalog region) has been arrested in Barangay Tambaliza, Concepcion, Iloilo.
Arcel Molino, 44, was a resident of the barangay. He faces 63 counts of rape in Palawan.
The warrant for his arrest was issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) – Branch 47 in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan in 2010 yet. It was served around 3:45 p.m. just this March 21.
The complainant was a 16-year-old lass.
The arresting team was made up of policemen from the Police Regional Office 6’s Regional Intelligence Unit and that of the Police Regional Office of MIMAROPA, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Region 6, and Platoon Provincial Mobile Force Company.
According to Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao, Western Visayas police director, the suspect fled Palawan on Nov. 12, 2010 by boarding a boat to Iloilo.
In Iloilo province, Molina initially stayed with his parents in the municipality of San Dionisio then after five years moved to Concepcion where he worked as a carpenter.
Molina also had a stint at a soft drink company in San Miguel, Iloilo in 2017 but returned to Concepcion.
According to Bulalacao, Molina would be turned over to the RTC – Branch 47 in Palawan.
Right after his arrest in Barangay Tambaliza, Molina was detained at the lockup cell of the municipal police station of Concepcion./PN
