DPWH engineer ‘killer’ now hunted

Authorities and officials have offered a P200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a Philippine Army soldier accused of killing a government engineer and wounding her brother outside a courthouse Monday morning.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon and former Representative Paul Daza each pledged P100,000 for the capture of Sgt. Jerome Lluz Tejero.

Tejero, an active-duty soldier assigned to the Army’s 8th Infantry Division, is the primary suspect in the daylight shooting of 25-year-old Karen Corsino del Valle.

Del Valle, an engineer with the DPWH Northern Samar 1st District Engineering Office, was shot in the head and declared dead on arrival at a local hospital. Her brother, Kent John, remains in critical condition.

The shooting occurred shortly before 9 a.m. as the siblings were parking their motorcycle in front of the Catarman Regional Trial Court in Barangay Dalakit. Police said they were at the court to attend a hearing for a case filed against Tejero involving violence against women and children.