Contractor tagged in Bote slay

Linked The suspects are identified via diagram. TV GRAB

Christian Saquibalon, a public contractor in Nueva Ecija, was tagged yesterday by the Philippine National Police (PNP) as the brains behind the killing of General Tinio, Nueva Ecija Mayor Ferdinand Bote.

PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde and Police Regional Office 3 director Chief Supt. Amador Corpus said a tourism project in the town appeared to have been a factor in the killing of the local government official.

Corpus said the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Bote has identified five of the eight three suspects in the killing.

They were Saquilabon as the mastermind, gunmen Florencio Suarez and Robert Gumacay, architect Arnold Gamboa and “spotter” Jun-jun Fajardo, who is still at-large.

Suarez and Gumacay were arrested last week at a checkpoint in Camarines Sur while Gamboa surrendered days later.

Bote was killed in an ambush in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija last July 3.

Earlier, Gumacay confessed to being a gun for hire.

The wife of Mayor Bote, Mayvelyn, said the family trusts and relies on the police.

“The family continues to grieve over the murder of my husband. We will not stop until he gets justice with the help of the police and President Duterte,” she said in an interview.

Mayor Bote was a member of the administration party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino.

His widow Mayvelyn is expected to be nominated to take a vacated seat in the town council as the top councilman assumed the post of vice mayor.

Vice Mayor Melvin Pascual succeeded Bote as mayor.