Suspects in ‘Taptap salvage’ arrested

Police arrested two men tagged as suspects in the killing of two cousins whose bodies were found dumped in barangay Taptap, Cebu City, last Holy Thursday.

One of the suspects, Gualberto Librando, agreed to become a state witness and helped police identify the other suspects.

The second suspect, Orlando Mejares alias Boggart, 49, was arrested in a drug buy-bust operation on Tuesday night in barangay Mambaling.

He was identified by Librando as one of the five men who abducted Glenn Parawan, 32, and his 17-year-old cousin Manuel Parawan III.

Librando identified the other suspects as a certain Aladen and Allan Sanchez. Another suspect remained unidentified.

Librando worked as a watchman of the house owned by a certain Tancag, brother of the slain suspected drug pusher Cresestomo Llaguno.

It was also found out that Sanchez and Librando are members of the Barangay Intelligence Network (BIN).

Because of their alleged involvement in the crime, Senior Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe, chief of the Cebu City police, said there is a need to review the process of recruiting BIN members and other anti-crime volunteers.

With the presence of Buenafe and other policemen, Librando reenacted how the two cousins were killed.

Librando said the two victims had just visited their cousin detained at Fuente police station when they were kidnapped shortly after leaving the police station.

Librando, accompanied by policemen and reporters, went to the skywalk near the Fuente rotunda where they kidnapped the victims.

He said he was with Sanchez and Aladen during the abduction.

Librando said Sanchez told the two victims to go with them because a colonel were waiting for them.

The two victims were then brought to a gamefowl farm in barangay Malubog on board a black car.

Inside the shanty, Librando demonstrated how Sanchez, Aladen and Mejares hit the victims with a shovel.

Later, one of suspects took a gaff and stabbed the victims.

Librando said he couldn’t bear watching the crime and went to an elevated area where he saw the bodies of the victims being stuffed into two sacks and were loaded into the black vehicle.

Librando said he learned the next day that salvage victims were found in Taptap.

Chief Insp. George Ylanan, chief of the Investigation and Detective Management Branch (IDMB) of the Cebu City police, has said the suspects were the bodyguards of Waldemar Pacis who was shot dead by Cloyd Arias.

Arias, a cousin of the Parawans, is detained at Fuente police stockade.

Arias, 31, of barangay Maslog, Danao City, said the group of Pacis got back at his cousins.

Before Pacis was killed, Arias said he and Pacis argued when the latter failed to follow his order to purchase P50,000 worth of shabu.