THE 17-year-old son of murder suspect Leonardo Manto Jr., alias Jun, provided the firearms used in the shooting of two police officers conducting surveillance last Saturday afternoon, Oct. 25, 2025, in Sitio Balaw, Barangay Sudlon 2, a mountainous area in Cebu City. The incident resulted in the death of Capt. Joel Hernan Deiparine and the injury of MSgt. Archel Tero.
According to Dionesio Malabato Labajo, 64, during his interview with the media on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at the office of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 7 with his lawyer, his younger brother Jun called him around 4 p.m. that Saturday to report that someone on a motorcycle was tailing him.
Labajo and Jun are half-brothers, sharing the same mother who later remarried.
Labajo said Jun called back to warn him to prepare because two unidentified men on a motorcycle were heading toward their location.
He said Jun’s son immediately retrieved his father’s firearms from inside their house and brought them to their roadside store. The cache included five .45 pistols and two high-powered firearms. Labajo confirmed he used a 30 Garand rifle.
“On his second call, sir, we were already preparing because the motorcycle was already approaching,” Labajo stated in Cebuano.
He said Jun parked his Mitsubishi Strada vehicle in the middle of the road to block passage while they positioned themselves on opposite sides of the road, hiding behind a makeshift corrugated fence.
Labajo confirmed he was on the left side, while their cousins, alias Allan and Reynante Manto, were on the right.
“When the Strada blocked the road, the motorcycle following immediately arrived, so we preempted them by firing first,” he said in Cebuano. This contradicts Jun’s claim that he was fired upon first.
Labajo stated that Deiparine was initially hit in the leg, causing their motorcycle to fall into a shallow ditch.
Mistaken identity
He said Tero quickly got up to remount the motorcycle again, but Jun and Johnrey Manto continued shooting, causing Tero to run down the slope and hide in the woods.
Labajo further said that he saw Jun and Johnrey taking cover behind the vehicle and firing their weapons. When Deiparine fell, Jun immediately ran over and finished him off by shooting him in the head.
After the victim was killed, Jun quickly checked his identity. They were shocked to realize they had killed a police officer.
It was then that Jun and his companions panicked. They initially believed the victims were relatives of the Toledo City barangay captain who was killed in Balamban, for which Jun was held responsible. Labajo noted that Jun had received reports that the slain barangay captain’s relatives had threatened to kill him if found.
“If only we had known they were police officers, we wouldn’t have done that, sir. When we found out they were police, we regretted it so much, including Jun,” Labajo said in Cebuano.
He said Jun sent them home and told them to hide. Reynante was reportedly sent to Negros, while Labajo was unaware of the whereabouts of the others.
Labajo returned home knowing the police would be looking for him, and indeed, he was arrested a few days later, where he confessed to everything.
He expressed deep regret for helping his brother, adding that his own family scolded him, saying Jun merely used him.
“If only I had known beforehand, I wouldn’t have gotten involved, sir... My children are also very angry that I helped my brother,” Labajo recounted.
Labajo apologized to Deiparine’s wife, revealing that had he known the victim was a police officer, he never would have followed his brother’s orders. / AYB