Last suspect in UPLB student’s slay nabbed in Bicol

MANILA, Philippines—The last suspect implicated in the killing of a University of the Philippines Los Baños student, was arrested Friday afternoon in Albay, police said.

In a text message sent to members of the media, Bicol Regional Police spokesman Superintendent Renato Bataller said that Carl Dactil de Guzman was arrested  in Barangay Tagas, Daraga City, Albay at 1:45 p.m. Friday.

De Guzman is the third suspect in the killing Sunday of UPLB student Ray Bernard Peñaranda.
De Guzman was brought to Daraga police station by the arresting teams.

Dactil was the alleged driver of the black motorcycle he, along with two other suspects Tyronne Kennedy Terbio, 18, and Joseph Beltran a.k.a “Sepo”, 26, used to escaped after killing UPLB student Ray Bernard de Guzman last Sunday.

Terbio was the alleged killer, while Beltran was said to be the lookout for his two cohorts.

Beltran was the first one to be put under police custody after he was arrested Tuesday in a follow-up operation.

Terbio, on the other hand, voluntarily surrendered to authorities late Thursday for fear of his security.

The three were identified as suspects based on the testimonies of the two other students Peñaranda was with during the incident and after they were caught by a surveillance camera driving away from the crime scene on board a motorcycle.

Peñaranda, with his two friends, was on his way home to his apartment in Umali Subdivision, in Barangay (village) Batong Malake, Los Baños, Laguna around 1 a.m. Sunday when they were approached by two motorcycle-riding men who tried to rob Peñaranda and subsequently stabbed him.

He was rushed to Los Baños Doctor’s Hospital and Medical Center but was declared dead on arrival after sustaining a stab wound to the right side of his chest.

Terbio is said to be a nephew of the village chairman of Barangay San Antonio, Los Baños while de Guzman is the son of a village security officer of Barangay Batong Malake, where the sprawling state university is located.

Peñaranda, 19, an Agriculture student of UPLB, was stabbed dead early Sunday as he and two other students were held up while they were walking home to their dormitory in Barangay Batong Malake.

His killing sparked a massive outcry within the UPLB community as it happened less than a week after a high school student was raped and murdered in the same area.

The killing of Peñaranda, coming in the heels of the February 27 rape-slay of 14-year-old Rochel Geronda, a student of the Los Baños National High School, has also prompted Camp Crame to order the  relief of the town’s police chief and of the entire municipal police force. With Maricar Cinco and Mar Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon