Bribes, love angle eyed in NBP guard’s slay

Authorities on Monday were looking into two possible motives for the murder of a New Bilibid Prison (NBP) guard: extramarital affairs and the taking of bribes from prisoners in exchange for favors.

Insp. Rommel Reyes, who was assigned to the Bureau of Reservation Security Service (BRSS), was gunned down Sunday afternoon by a man on a motorcycle inside the NBP complex at Barangay Poblacion in Muntinlupa City.

The lone gunman, whose face was obscured by a white motorcycle helmet, shot the 41-year-old Reyes in the neck and back on NBP Road near the Sunken Garden, according to a report to the Southern Police District.

Four bullet shells from a .45-caliber firearm were recovered from the crime scene.

Deals with inmates

Director Guillermo Eleazar, National Capital Region Police Office chief, said he received reports that the victim had been involved in making deals with inmates at the national penitentiary in exchange for money.

This made it possible that Reyes’ killing was an “inside job” caused by a transaction gone wrong.

In a radio interview on Monday, Bureau of Corrections Director General Ronald dela Rosa said that Reyes, who also lived inside the NBP complex, had been under investigation.

This was based on reports that he had asked inmates for money in exchange for letting them see their visitors.

CCTV footage

Dela Rosa added that the victim was also supposedly involved in extramarital affairs, another possible motive for his killing.

Eleazar said the police were still checking video footage taken by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras near the crime scene. Investigators had pinpointed four possible routes used by the gunman to get to the area before the killing, he added.

According to Eleazar, Reyes was not on a watch list of persons involved in illegal drugs.

Reyes used to be assigned at NBP’s maximum security compound before Dela Rosa ordered his transfer to the BRSS after complaints about his conduct surfaced.