Village chair in killing of 3 surrenders

THE BLOODIED hand of a shooting victim, who had just cast his vote in the recent barangay elections in a village in Cebu City, hangs on the window of the bus where he and three others were shot. The case is believed to be related to the just-concluded elections, which police said was one of the bloodiest in the country. TONEE DESPOJO/CEBU DAILY NEWS

ROXAS CITY—A fugitive outgoing barangay (village) captain surrendered to authorities in Iloilo City on Wednesday, a day after he allegedly gunned down his brother and two sisters in Pontevedra town, Capiz province.

Barangay Captain Manuel Arcenas, of Manapao in Pontevedra, surrendered to a team of policemen and soldiers, and Pontevedra Mayor Esteban Jose Contreras near Villa San Lorenzo Subdivision in La Paz District, Iloilo City.

He was taken to the headquarters of the Western Visayas regional police office in Camp Martin Delgado, where he underwent investigation, said Insp. William Limjuco, Pontevedra police chief.

He was taken back to Capiz past 7 p.m. on Wednesday for the filing of murder complaints against him at the prosecutor’s office on Thursday, said Limjuco.

Arcenas, 60, and armed with a Carbine rifle and two .45-cal. pistols, shot and killed his brother Ramon, 54, and sisters Jennifer Arcenas-Nuyles, 58, and Evelyn Arcenas-Espinar, 56, in Manapao village on Tuesday.

He fled, prompting police to order a manhunt for him.

Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr., regional police director, said police operatives found Arcenas in Villa San Lorenzo Subdivision after his wife was monitored arriving there at 9 p.m. on Tuesday.

The house is owned by a friend of Arcenas, he said.

“We convinced him to surrender through intermediaries,” Cruz said. He said policemen had been monitoring the subdivision and zeroing in on the exact house where Arcenas was hiding.

At past 4 p.m., Arcenas was brought by a motorcycle from the house he was staying in inside the subdivision and joined his wife and daughter who were waiting along the road where the mayor and the arresting team were also waiting.

According to Limjuco, a long-standing squabble over inheritance, exacerbated by politics, might have led to the killings, which happened a day after Arcenas lost his bid for village councilor.

Arcenas’ daughter, Ysabel, who was running for barangay captain, also lost to Ramon, who was proclaimed the winner. Evelyn’s husband, Benjamin Espinar, also ran for the same position.

Contreras confirmed that the Arcenas family had a long-standing grudge over pieces of property and that politics was just a secondary reason for the massacre.

A close relative of the Arcenas family, who asked not to be named, told the Inquirer that the dispute over vast landholdings in Masbate province could be one of the motives for the killings.

The family is also quarreling over fishponds in Manapao and several buildings in Roxas City.

The suspect and victims are children of the late Manuel Arcenas Sr. and former Rep. Luz Bacunawa of Masbate. They are also related to Interior Secretary Mar Roxas on their grandmother’s side.