Classmate tips off rob-slay suspect; now P100k richer

A former classmate—now seeking justice for a murdered aunt—tipped him off to police and got P100,000 richer as a result.

Authorities on Tuesday caught up with the suspect in Monday’s killing of a widow and the stabbing of her three underage children in Caloocan City.

Ivan Lou Climaco, a native of Pangasinan, was arrested in the Camachile area, the boundary between Caloocan and Quezon City, where he was waiting to board a provincial bus, according to Senior Police Officer 1 Benjie Tiu of the Caloocan police.

Climaco was cornered around 7:45 a.m. on a tip from Antonio Alejandro, a nephew of Ana Agullo who the suspect allegedly killed in a knife attack at her home on Reparo Street, Barangay 161, before dawn on Monday.

Alejandro happened to be in the usually crowded area when he recognized Climaco, who also lived in  Agullo’s neighborhood, said SPO1 Joselito Barredo Jr., the case investigator.

Alejandro and Climaco were former classmates, Barredo added.

Alejandro immediately contacted the nearest Quezon City police precinct, which then coordinated with the Caloocan police for the arrest. Climaco initially resisted arrest until he was subdued.

Later in the day, Mayor Enrico Echiverri rewarded Alejandro with a check worth P100,000 and also promised to shoulder the expenses for Agullo’s burial and her children’s medical bills.

As of late Tuesday, Agullo’s three orphaned children—Justine Ann, 15; Arvin John, 13; and Alfer John, 11—were still confined at Manila Central University hospital where they were treated for stab wounds.

It was the three children who identified Climaco, who had a previous criminal record in the barangay (village), as their attacker.

Barredo reported that under interrogation, Climaco maintained that he only intended to rob the Agullo residence when he sneaked into the house through a bedroom window.

Initial reports said Climaco owed Agullo some money prior to the crime.