P600k bounty up for capture of suspect in Camarines Sur shooting

NAGA CITY—A P600,000-bounty will be given to anyone who could point the police to the location of Arthur De Leon, the prime suspect behind the Nov. 5 killings of five family members in Milaor town in Camarines Sur province.

In an online press conference Monday, Milaor Mayor Anthony Reyes urged the public to help them capture De Leon and hasten the delivery of justice for the victims killed over a long-standing land dispute in Barangay Tarusanan.

The P100,000 of the bounty was from the municipal government of Milaor, while the P500,000 was from the former representative of Camarines Sur’s first district, Rolando Andaya.

“We are appealing to everybody, to those involved, to please help us locate the gunman so that justice will be served,” Reyes said.

Last Friday, De Leon entered the victim’s houses and opened fire, killing Romeo de Leon Sr., 72; Samuel Cobilla Jr., 21; and siblings Hobbie John Britanico, 6; and Robbie John Britanico, 4, on the spot.

Another victim Noela De Leon Agliones, 7, suffered injuries from a grenade that the suspect threw in the kitchen. She later died in the hospital.

The only survivor of the attack, Hades John Britanico, 7, is receiving treatment for his injuries in a Naga City hospital.

Reyes said the case should not be taken lightly since shooting incidents rarely happen in their town.

At the same press conference, Captain Emilio Dichoso, incoming officer-in-charge of Milaor police, said Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar had directed police personnel to conduct a manhunt operation against the suspect.

“A manhunt ordered by PNP Chief Guillermo Eleazar is already underway. We have already coordinated with nearby LGUs, and we will also use the power of social media,” he said.

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