Alleged head in ambush-slay of anti-illegal-drugs pastor arrested

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Police on Tuesday arrested the alleged mastermind in the ambush of a Baptist Church pastor who actively campaigned against illegal drugs.

Gary Daclan was pointed to by witnesses as the primary suspect in the killing of Crisostomo Maternal Jr., an evangelist of a mission church in the mountain Barangay (village) Bonbon in Cebu City.

His girlfriend and brother were also arrested on Monday for selling illegal drugs.

Cebu City Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña was elated with the arrest of Daclan but would not give financial assistance to the arresting policemen.

“We have captured the mastermind. That shows we are not only willing to fight back, but we are fighting back,” he told reporters.

“But there will be no (cash assistance for now). He’s alive. He’s still standing up. He doesn’t even have a scratch on his body,” he added.

Osmeña earlier offered P50,000 for every dead crime suspect and P5,000 for each wounded.

Daclan was presented to Osmeña on Wednesday as suspect in the killing of Maternal, one of the leaders of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan who campaigned for the mayor-elect in the last elections.

Daclan admitted his involvement in the slay plot, saying drug dealers in the place thought that pastor informed law enforcers about the illegal-drug operations in the place.

“I always saw him going with Army soldiers. We were anxious that he might have asked the soldiers to arrest us,” he told reporters.

Days before his death, Maternal was in the company of soldiers who were in Barangay Bonbon to take part in the Brigada Eskwela, a project of the Department of Education where volunteers help in preparing or cleaning school buildings for the opening of classes.

Daclan said he contacted their drug group leader who was behind bars at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa, Philippines.

“Our boss told me to have pastor killed so I looked for a gunman,” he said shortly after he was presented by police to Daclan said he paid P30,000 to the assassin who remained at large together with the driver of the getaway motorcycle.

Supt. George Ylanan, deputy director for operation of the Cebu City Police Office, said they were going after the two other suspects whose identity he didn’t divulge.

“This is actually an isolated case of anti-drug advocates getting killed. But I must admit that having that kind of campaign is actually risky just like what we policemen do,” he said.

Ylanan advised anti-drug crusaders to closely coordinate with policemen to ensure their safety.

Murder charges will be filed against Daclan, the gunman, and the driver of the getaway motorcycle, said Cebu City Police Office Director Benjamin Santos Jr.

He said Daclan was a level 2 drug pusher who could dispose of at least 200 grams of shabu in a week.

“Drug peddlers in Bonbon were terrified when they saw the presence of soldiers in their place. They were not used to seeing military personnel in the place,” he said. TVJ

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