2 more suspects in UPLB student’s slay identified

MANILA, Philippines—Following the arrest Tuesday of the alleged “lookout” during the killing of 19-year-old University of the Philippines Los Baños student Ray Bernard Peñarada, authorities identified Wednesday the two other suspects, Chief Superintendent James Melad, Calabarzon police director said.

The suspect with a P250,000 reward money offered for his arrest was identified as Tyronne Kennedy Terbio, 18.

Melad said Terbio was the alleged killer of agriculture student Peñaranda, who was stabbed with a fan knife on the chest before dawn Sunday during an alleged robbery attempt.

The driver of the black motorcycle the suspects used to escape, on the other hand, was identified as Carl Dactil de Guzman, 26.

At large

Melad  said the two remained at large.

He said the alleged “lookout” for de Guzman and Terbio during the incident was Joseph Beltran a.k.a “Sepo”, 26, who is now in police custody after being arrested Tuesday in a follow-up operation.

The three were identified based on the testimonies of the two other people Peñaranda was with during the incident and after they were caught by a surveillance camera driving away from the crime scene on board a motorcycle.

Peñaranda, with his two friends, was on his way home to his apartment in Umali Subdivision, Barangay (village) Batong Malake, Los Baños, Laguna around 1 a.m. Sunday when they were approached by two motorcycle-riding men who tried to rob Peñaranda and subsequently stabbed him.

He was rushed to Los Baños Doctor’s Hospital and Medical Center but was declared dead on arrival after sustaining a stab wound to the right side of his chest.

Los Baños chief of police, Superintendent Dante Novicio and his men were earlier relieved of their posts because of series of crimes within their jurisdiction.

Security beefed up

In a statement posted on the UPLB website Wednesday afternoon, the state university said it has recently repositioned some of their security cameras to “monitor the movements of people and vehicles that frequent the critical areas in the campus.”

It also said the Community Support Brigade has been instructed to work hand-in-hand with the University Police Force in maintaining peace and order within the university, adding that services from a private security agency has been secured.

A perimeter wall along the campus Kanluran Road has also been constructed to “help deter criminal elements from accessing other entry points inside the campus.”

It said that there are also plans to put up steel barriers along other access roads such as the one in the Institute for Plant Breeding area.

“There are also ongoing measures to strengthen campus patrolling and reskilling campus security personnel,” it added.

“Rest assured, UPLB continues to make periodic reviews of campus security plans. We continue to work in close coordination and cooperation with the Local Government of Los Baños and the Los Baños PNP [Philippine National Police] station to address the problems and concerns regarding our students who reside in privately-owned dormitories and apartments located within the periphery of the campus.”