Brothers pin down suspect in parents’ killings

Guialaludin Sacandal “Boy Muslim” Otto (left) and former Lingayen Vice Mayor Ramon Arcinue with his wife Zoraida

They can never forget a face.

This was the claim of two brothers who said they saw a man shoot dead their parents in front of their Manila apartment in March last year.

JC, 28, a town councilor and Jaesson Arcinue, a medical doctor, identified Guialaludin Sacandal “Boy Muslim” Otto as the man who shot their parents, former Lingayen Vice Mayor Ramon Arcinue and his wife Zoraida before midnight on March 7 in Sampaloc.

Virgilio Mendez ,National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Deputy Director for Regional Services said Otto was arrested by NBI agents over the weekend at a hideout in General Santos City.

“The gunman was right in front me as I held my bleeding mother,” JC told the Inquirer at the NBI head quarters in Manila.

The brothers said they just came from a dinner celebration and were about to enter their apartment when Otto appeared from behind and fired first at their father, and then their mother, at close range.

“He was a step away from us and even looked at us straight in the eye as he tucked his gun into his pants after he made sure both my parents were dead. Then, he walked away,” JC said.

Otto, however, told the Inquirer he had nothing to do with the killings, but clammed up when asked when was the last time he was in Manila.

Jun De Guzman, NBI Assistant Director for National Capital Region said the suspect was arrested based on a warrant issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 45.

The brothers declined to comment on who could be the mastermind of the killings, saying they would leave the matter for the authorities to investigate.

“We want to wait for our other brother. Joel Raymond, who is a lawyer, to talk about the possible motives for the murders and the suspected mastermind.”

Ramon, 55, was once a vice mayor of Lingayen town in Pangasinan, while Zoraida, also 55, was the chairwoman of Barangay Poblacion, also in Lingayen.

The couple survived an ambush two years ago in Pangasinan, records showed.

Police described the gunman to be in his late 20s, 5’5” in height, slim, with a brown complexion and straight hair.

“The description of the suspect matched that of other witnesses previously interviewed,” Mendez said.