A 60-year-old farmer tagged as a provincial and district-level top most wanted person for a decades-old murder case was apprehended in Leyte on Thursday evening, 9 July 2026, following a coordinated cross-regional tracking operation.

The service of the warrant transpired at around 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, 9 July 2026, in Barangay Bugho, Julita, Leyte.

Operatives from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Biliran Provincial Field Unit led the joint tracker teams, supported by the Julita Municipal Police Station, Leyte Police Provincial Office, Police Regional Office 8, and the Las Piñas City Police Station.

The joint elements served the judicial order against the accused. The warrant was issued on 6 November 2025, by Judge Kathryn Sabado of Las Piñas City Regional Trial Court Branch 202 for the crime of murder, with no bail bond recommended.

The arrested fugitive was identified only by his alias as alias “Roger,” 60, a farmer and former resident of Cabucgayan, Biliran.

Initial operational background revealed that the suspect and his brother allegedly killed a Barangay Councilor in Barangay Almanza Uno, Las Piñas City, back in 2004 before fleeing to the province.

Although the incident occurred over two decades ago, the case was refiled in 2025, triggering the issuance of the new judicial warrant. Following strict intelligence verification of the suspect's exact whereabouts in Leyte, the operating units synchronized their field forces to execute the arrest.

The accused was immediately brought to the Julita Municipal Police Station for initial documentation and processing, and will remain in custody while awaiting a formal commitment order from the issuing court.