QC massacre suspect falls after 6 years in hiding
After six years in hiding, one of the suspects in the 2011 massacre of five people in Quezon City was arrested on Tuesday.
A special operations team of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) arrested Francisco Badilla Jr., 53, on the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Ilang-Ilang Street in Barangay Batasan Hills around 9:50 p.m.
The police served an arrest warrant issued in March 2013 by Judge Edgar Damacio Santos of QC Regional Trial Court Branch 222, where Badilla had been charged with five counts of murder, with no bail recommended.
Chief Insp. Titoy Jay Cuden, QCPD public information chief, said Badilla returned to his old home at Kalayaan B on Kaibigan Street a few months ago after years in hiding in Nueva Ecija province.
Along with six others, including four members of his family, the suspect was charged for the killing of their five neighbors on Nov. 28, 2011. The other accused were Badilla’s brothers Benjamin and Benedicto; Francisco’s son, Arjay; Benjamin’s son, Melvin; Marlon
Andamo and a man identified only as Ecat.
The victims—Liberato Paez, 50; Rogelio Diomampo, 36; Rogelio Agustin, 49; Armando Garcia, 47; and Germinio Manansala, 44—were having a drinking session in front of the house of Zaldy Ballesteros when they were shot dead. Ballesteros was wounded in the attack.
In a sworn statement, Paez’s widow Jessica said the Badilla family members were known as neighborhood toughies. Francisco, Benjamin and Ecat reportedly worked for the barangay government.
A land dispute was believed to be the reason behind the attack. The Badillas, who were reportedly unable to present proof of their longtime residency, were then in danger of losing their home under a local government plan to award property to some residents.
Andamo had been in detention since 2013, when he was arrested for drug possession, while Melvin was arrested in Cabanatuan City last year, police said. JPV
