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LUCENA CITY, Philippines – A medical student who was a nephew of a Department of Foreign Affair (DFA) official was found dead in Sta. Rosa City in Laguna on Saturday afternoon, police said.
The naked and bloodied body of Paulo Miguel Catalla, 27, was found with multiple stab wounds inside his apartment in Labrador Subdivision, said Superintendent Reynaldo Maclang, Sta. Rosa police chief.
Catalla was a nephew but was treated as her a son by Philippine Consul General to Hong Kong Bernardita Catalla, according to Maclang.
The body of the victim was discovered by his best friend Michell Vanessa Albano at about 1:30 p.m.
Investigators were able to identify the suspect, a Jun Francis Bertulazo, 19, a student of Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Sta. Rosa campus, through a closed circuit television camera in the vicinity.
Later on Saturday, police arrested Bertulazo who is now detained at the Sta. Rosa jail facing charges of robbery and homicide.
Based on CCTV record, the victim and the suspect entered the apartment on Thursday evening. The suspect was recorded leaving the apartment at dawn Friday carrying a black bag.
“The suspect already admitted that he was the guy in the CCTV. But he was mum on the killing,” Maclang said in a phone interview early on Sunday.
Police suspected that Bertulazo was the “boyfriend” of the victim, who, Maclang said, was gay.
According to Maclang, the victim’s wristwatch, Ipad, cash and other personal belongings were missing. Delfin T. Mallari Jr./CB