Supt. Chito Bersaluna, San Pedro police chief, said Monday that based on their initial investigation, the suspect was the “only one who had a strong motive” to kill Manuel Amil, also 17 years old, after the two had a fight over a girl last week.
Amil and the suspect are reportedly students at the Cuyab National High School in San Pedro.
According to the police, Amil and five friends were drinking in Barangay (village) San Antonio past midnight Saturday when four armed men interrupted the scene.
Witnesses said the gunmen ordered them to lay face to the ground when one was heard saying, “Ayan, naka-green (That one wearing green),” apparently referring to the victim. The suspects then took Amil and shoved him into a vehicle.
At around 6 a.m. Sunday, a body was found on a lot in Barangay Gregoria de Jesus, General Mariano Alvarez in Cavite. The victim’s grandmother, Flordeliza Viaje, identified the body as that of Amil.
A report from the General Mariano Alvarez police said the victim’s hands and feet were tied with thin metal wire. A piece of wire was also tied around the neck which may have caused the victim’s death.
Bersaluna said a certain Wally Samson, who faced a warrant for a murder case in San Pedro, was identified as one of the men who abducted the victim.
“It looks like it (that the killers were hired),” Bersaluna said in a phone interview.
The 17-year-old suspect, he said, had been seen driving at least two different vehicles, suggesting he may have the financial capacity to hire hit men.