2 suspects in slay of Quezon town councilor nabbed

LUCENA CITY – Police arrested on Thursday two primary suspects in the murder of Aristeo Ilao, councilor of Sariaya town in Quezon province.

Suspects Ramil Gesmundo and his brother Reynaldo were nabbed by police in Sariaya at about 1:10 p.m. or just three hours after the victim was shot dead, Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon (Calabarzon) police director, said.

Police said the suspects are Ilao’s brothers-in-law.

In a phone interview, Supt. Rafael Torres, Sariaya police chief, said the suspects were arrested in separate follow- up operations in the villages of Sampaloc 2 and Pinagbakuran.

Torres said the suspects admitted that “personal grudge” was their motive for killing Ilao.

“But we’re still digging deeper for other angles,” Torres said.

Police also recovered the blood-stained shirt and denim pants worn by Ramil in the shooting, Eleazar said in a text message quoting the police report. The suspects were also positively identified by witnesses in the killing, police said.

Ilao, who was serving his first term as town councilor, was shot and killed by two gunmen who barged into his house in Barangay Sampaloc 2 around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Police said Ilao died from gunshot wounds in the head.    /muf