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[av_heading heading=’KILLED OVER P1M? Policeman, local nabbed for Sara town employee’s death’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO and CAROLYN JANE ABELLO
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January 14, 2018
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ILOILO City – A policeman was accused of ordering the murder of an employee of the local government of Sara, Iloilo.
Police Officer 2 Kevin Piosca allegedly owed Mae Luzuriaga around P1 million, police said, citing initial investigation.
Piosca, 33, and the suspected gunman, 24-year-old Edmar Camangyan of Barangay Preciosa, Sara, have been arrested.
A 53-year-old accounting officer at Sara’s Municipal Engineering Office, Luzuriaga was shot on Jan. 11 at Nory’s Refreshment in Barangay Poblacion, Concepcion town. She was hit on the back, police said.
Officers arrested Camangyan in his house at around 6 a.m. on Jan. 12.
Piosca – alleged boyfriend of Luzuriaga – was also caught in his house in Barangay Bondulan, San Dionisio at around 11:45 p.m. of the same day, police said.
Both suspects were facing murder charges, said the police.
Citing footage from a security camera, police said Camangyan – clad in jacket and a pair of jersey short pants – entered Nory’s Refreshment and shot the victim once.
Senior Inspector Gilbert Baldevarona, Sara police chief, said they were able to link the crime to Piosca through the text messages in Luzuriaga’s cellphone asking her whereabouts.
The National Bureau of Investigation Region 6 took Piosca in custody while Camangyan was detained at the Concepcion police station.
Luzuriaga, a resident of Barangay Poblacion, Sara, was a daughter of former Sara vice mayor Bonifacio Luzuriaga.
She was having snacks with an officemate and her house help at around 5:45 p.m. when attacked, said Chief Inspector Abner Jordan, Concepcion police chief.
Luzuriaga was taken to the Sara District Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Initial police investigation showed Piosca owed Luzuriaga around P1 million.
Days before she was killed, and after she learned that Piosca had two other girlfriends, Luzuriaga demanded that the officer pay his debt, but the latter refused, police said.
Moreover, Luzuriaga disclosed to her officemate, Ramona Magbanua, that she has received death threats from Piosca, said the police.
Piosca was the duty jailer at the Sara police station on Jan. 11 – the day Luzuriaga was killed. His colleagues noticed that he was busy using his cellphone, Baldevarona said.
“If it’s true that he (Piosca) masterminded the killing, he would be dismissed from the service,” Baldevarona said.
Camangyan fled on board a motorcycle after the shooting, police said, citing security camera footage.
None of Luzuriaga’s companions and the refreshment’s staffers was harmed, police added.
Luzuriaga’s son, Francis Garcia Jr., was relieved that the suspects have been arrested.
“Lord, salamat sa pagsagot ng aming mga dasal. Justice has been served for my Mama,” he wrote on Facebook.
The post hinted that Luzuriaga helped one of the suspects when she was alive but did not state any name.
“Bakit po kung sino pa ang mga taong tinulungan mong maiahon ang kanilang buhay, mabigyan ng trabaho, mabigyan ng kabuhayan, ay sila pa ang magiging dahilan ng iyong pagkawala?” the son wrote.
He prayed for “strength” and promised to “be strong.” He said he felt at ease that his mother is now “with the Lord.”
“Thank you sa lahat ng tumulong upang makamit ang hustisya. Alam kong hindi ko kayo ma-isa-isa, pero maraming salamat,” Francis Garcia Jr. wrote. “May God bless us all.”/PN
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