Alleged brains behind Agusan mining exec’s slay falls

INQUIRER FILES

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — A local businessman alleged to have masterminded the killing of retired Colonel Samuel Afdal, a gold miner in Agusan del Sur, was arrested by police on Monday afternoon in Bukidnon.

Major Ralph Jezen Perez, police chief of Bunawan town, told Jay Solis in a live broadcast over 89.7 DXGP-FM radio on Tuesday that Ryan Mark Baylon, president of JB Earthmovers, Inc. was already in their hands after his arrest in a private resort in Barangay Talahiron of Kibawe town, Bukidnon.

Baylon, a business associate of Afdal, is the last of four suspects to fall into the hands of authorities.

Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 85 Presiding Judge Juris Dilinila-Callanta, ordered his arrest on April 5, along with that of former New People’s Army rebel Rosalino Degracia, for the Oct. 26, 2021 ambush of Afdal in Rosario, Agusan del Sur.

Degracia had surrendered to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Davao City last April. One other suspect, Alemar Awado, had been detained in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur, for another murder case.

Baylon did not resist arrest when served with the warrant around 5 p.m. on Monday, said Perez, adding that the murder suspect was with female resort workers at the time.

From Kibawe, Baylon was brought to Bunawan.

Perez said the arrest came 26 days after their station received a copy of the warrant from the Quezon City court.

Perez added that Baylon complained about having some abnormal heart rhythm when they arrived at the Bunawan police station. On Tuesday, he was escorted for a medical checkup.

“We are waiting for a commitment order from the judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 85 in Quezon City before we escort him there,” Perez said.

Afdal, known as Saga among associates, was president of Philsaga Mining Corp., which extracted gold in a tenement in Rosario. He sold his interests in the company and started a new one, Rosario Manobo Mining Corp. (RMMC).

Afdal was driving along an uphill road when ambushed in Barangay Santa Cruz. Although hit, the former soldier managed to drive toward the RMMC base camp and sought help. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he later lapsed into a coma and died on Nov. 15, 2021.

The indictment against the three accused was based mainly on the confession of former NPA guerrilla Jeffrey Mamerto, the alleged gunman.

Mamerto had pointed to Baylon as the mastermind of the kill plot, allegedly offering his former NPA colleagues Degracia and Awado P200,000 to do the hit job. Mamerto, in turn, was contracted for P50,000 to pull the trigger against Afdal.