Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Acting Director Col. Randy Glenn Silvio said Friday that authorities have in custody the primary suspect in the killing of a House of Representatives official.

Silvio told the DAILY TRIBUNE that suspect Cris Mark Mangarin Bayhonan, 35, also known as “Glenn Balbido Robredo,” was arrested along with his alleged accomplice Cedlyn Vargas Beberino, 26, during a buy-bust operation on 15 July at Northview 1, Batasan Road, Quezon City.

The suspects, Silvio said, were apprehended in a buy-bust operation based on intelligence about Bayhonan’s alleged illegal firearms trade.

The operation was carried out by composite QCPD teams, including the District Intelligence Division (DID) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU), with support from the Malabon police.

Based on the report, a concerned citizen informed the DID that the suspects were looking for prospective buyers of firearms and had promised a commission to the informant.

Acting on the information, QCPD launched an entrapment operation.

Despite initially agreeing to meet in Malabon, the suspects moved the location twice and directed the police poseur buyer to proceed to Northview, Quezon City, for the actual transaction.

At 9:45 p.m., the suspects were arrested, leading to the confiscation of a loaded .9mm Colt MK-4 pistol, an MK2 hand grenade, multiple IDs under the alias “Glenn Robredo,” and photos of him in a security guard uniform from Bayhonan.

From Beberino, marked buy-bust money, three IDs under the name “Cedlyn Sungkados Vargas,” a mobile phone and personal effects were confiscated.

Silvio said neither suspect presented permits for the firearm or explosives. Arrest procedures were filmed with barangay officials present. The SECU-EOD team inspected the grenade.

Bayhonan has been positively identified as the gunman in the 15 June shooting of Director Mauricio “Morie” Pulhin, chief of technical staff of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.

Pulhin was shot inside Don Jose Heights Subdivision, Barangay Commonwealth, at a birthday party. Silvio said Bayhonan is also linked to a separate shooting incident in Caloocan City on 26 June 2024.

Both suspects underwent medical exams and were placed in CIDU-QCPD custody.

Charges for illegal possession of firearms and explosives (Republic Act 10591 and Republic Act 9516), use of a fictitious name (Article 178, Revised Penal Code) and murder are being pursued.

No bail was recommended for the murder case, now pending before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.