TO HELP hasten the investigation, Mayor Jose Nadie Arceo of Hinigaran town in Negros Occidental told SunStar Bacolod yesterday, June 28, that he raised to P400,000 the reward for anyone who could shed light to the murder of his bodyguard's brother.
Arceo earlier offered a P200,000 reward for the resolution of the murder of Leonardo Espinosa alias “Andoy”, 44, of Sitio Pantalan in the town’s Barangay 1.
Espinosa succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds after a lone gunman shot him while he was driving his tricycle last June 5 along Lopez Jaena Street in the barangay.
Three bystanders were also injured when they were hit by stray bullets during the attack, police records showed.
Arceo stressed that he decided to raise the reward because several weeks had passed since the shooting but the police have no leads until now.
“It seems that the case was not given that much of an attention,” he said, adding that the reward he is offering will be from his own pocket.
Arceo added that from the time that he announced that he will be offering a reward, until yesterday, no one has come out yet to give information that could eventually resolve the murder of Espinosa.
“I don’t want that this will be a precedent, wherein it seems that killing can be done easily in the town without even thinking that there will be innocent people involved," the mayor lamented.
Espinosa and his brother Leroy, Arceo’s bodyguard, were implicated in the twin murder of Mark Christian Salazar on December 18, 2021 and his father Mariano on May 2, 2020.
After the killing of Espinosa, his brother left the town for safety, Arceo noted.
“Please help us give justice to the victim...We don’t want other people to think that Hinigaran is not safe,” Arceo appealed.
Meanwhile, Arceo clarified that the incident has nothing to do with the relief of Captain Ryan Villasario as the town’s police chief.
Villasario was replaced by Lt. Colonel Necerato Sabando, who is the former chief of Provincial Human Rights Affairs Office of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo).
He explained that Hinigaran was already upgraded as a “Class A” municipality which would require that a high-ranking officer should be assigned as police chief.
Sabando officially assumed the post along with Lt. Colonel Mark Anthony Darroca, who replaced Lt. Colonel Robert Petate as chief of Silay City Police, on Monday, June 27.
Darroca was formerly assigned at the Police Regional Office-6 while Petate will undergo schooling for promotion purposes.*