NATION

Ex-VM, son slay suspects surrender

Elmer Recuerdo · Jul 2, 2026, 3:55 AM

THREE suspects wanted in the abduction and killing of former Abuyog, Leyte Vice Mayor James Bohol and his son, Carlo, are in police custody following their surrender on Tuesday evening. While one suspect claimed the fatal stabbing was an act of self-defense over an unpaid loan dispute, the Police Regional Office-8 confirmed all three will be transferred back to Eastern Visayas to face formal criminal charges. — PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of philippine nATIONAL POLICE

TACLOBAN CITY — Three suspects in the abduction and killing of a former Leyte town vice mayor and his son surrendered to authorities in Metro Manila late Tuesday, hours after the victims’ bodies were discovered in a mountain ravine.

The suspects turned themselves in at the Pasay City Police Station around 10 p.m., investigators said. Police identified them as Mark James Taboy, a 30-year-old businessman; Kim Solayao, a 27-year-old college student; and Reniel Galza, 24.

All three are residents of Basey in neighboring Samar province.

Pasay City police said the suspects will be escorted back to Leyte to be turned over to regional investigators.

The surrender came the same day the bodies of former Abuyog Vice Mayor James Bohol and his son, Carlo James Bohol, were recovered from a 25-foot ravine beside a roadside in Silago, Southern Leyte.

Reports disclosed that the victims’ families and the Eastern Visayas Regional Police Office confirmed their identities, ending days of search efforts.

Authorities narrated that the the father and son were abducted Saturday afternoon by unidentified armed men from their office inside a warehouse in Mayorga, Leyte.

Before the victims were found, the former vice mayor’s daughter posted a plea on social media noting that the three suspects had been spotted boarding a ferry from Northern Samar bound for Sorsogon province on the main island of Luzon.

Regional police officials said Wednesday that crime scene investigators have processed the ravine where the bodies were found. Authorities are gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses for a formal case build-up.

The local government of Abuyog strongly condemned the killings.