POLICE operatives arrested Iloilo Province’s sixth most wanted person (MWP), a 22-year-old man facing a statutory rape charge, during a focused law enforcement operation in Sitio Tabuc Suba, Barangay Badu, Calinog, Iloilo, at around 12:45 p.m. on August 11, 2026.
Police Colonel Bayani Razalan, director of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO), commended the police units involved in the operation and warned other wanted persons in the province against evading arrest.
“May this arrest serve as a stern warning to the remaining wanted persons that are still hiding from the arms of the law that you cannot hide forever. Time will come that you will be answering your case in the court of law,” Razalan said.
Police identified the arrested suspect only as alias John, 22, single and a resident of Barangay Badu, Calinog.
The operation was conducted by the tracker team of the Passi City Component City Police Station (CCPS), led by Police Lt. Col. German Magbanua III, chief of police, with operational support from the 602nd Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion in Western Visayas (RMFB 6).
Police said the suspect was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by the court on Aug. 10, 2026, for statutory rape under Article 266-A, Paragraph 1 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 11648.
The court recommended no bail for the suspect’s temporary liberty.
Police said the suspect was informed of the nature and cause of his arrest and apprised of his constitutional rights.
He was placed under the custody of the Passi City CCPS pending his turnover to the court concerned.
The IPPO said the arrest was part of its continuing operations to locate and apprehend wanted persons in the province. (Leo Solinap/SunStar Philippines)