PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has expressed "extreme outrage" over the rape and killing of a one-year-old boy in Makati, Malacañang said on Thursday, July 18.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte has already directed the Philippine National Police to conduct a "thorough investigation" against the suspect in the gruesome crime.
"The tragic news has reached the attention of the President and he, like all Filipinos, has been extremely outraged by this heinous criminal act," Panelo said in a statement.
"We assure everyone that authorities will leave no stone unturned to give justice to the young boy and his family," he added.
The infant boy was found dead in an abandoned building in Makati City on Wednesday, July 17.
Gerald Reparip, the suspect in the rape-slay of the one-year-old boy, was nabbed Wednesday, July 17, after police found his blood-stained underwear.
Reparip confessed that due to intoxication, he choked the victim after carrying out the rape on Tuesday night, July 16.
Police have yet to establish whether Reparip was under the influence of drugs when he committed the crime.
Panelo said the Palace condemns "in the strongest terms" the barbaric rape and murder of the victim.
"The Palace commends the Philippine National Police for the immediate arrest of the suspect who admitted to this grisly crime," Panelo said.
"Given the atrocity of this felony, investigation is also being undertaken to determine whether the suspect is under the influence of drugs," he added. (SunStar Philippines)