THE suspect who shot and killed Police Captain Joel Deiparine and wounded another policeman during a surveillance operation against an alleged gun-for-hire group in Sitio Balaw, Barangay Sudlon 2, Cebu City on October 25, 2025, has surrendered.
In an interview with reporters Thursday, Central Visayas Police Regional Office Director Brigadier General Red Maranan identified the suspect as Leonardo Manto Jr., alias Jun.
“Itong ating prime suspect na si Leonardo Manto Jr. alias Jun, right after nung pangyayari ay agad itong tumakas. At dahil dito, nagkasa tayo ng regionwide manhunt at hinanap natin siya for a couple of days dito sa Region 7 (Central Visayas). However, meron tayong nareceive na information kahapon na siya ay nandun na sa Metro Manila kaya nagpadala tayo ng tracker team to track sa kanyang kinaroroonan itong suspect at na-track nga natin na itong suspect ay nandito sa area ng eastern part of Metro Manila,” Maranan said.
(Our prime suspect, Leonardo Manto Jr. alias Jun, immediately fled after the incident. Because of this, we launched a regionwide manhunt and searched for him for a couple of days here in Region 7. However, we received information yesterday [Wednesday] that he was already in Metro Manila, so we sent a tracker team to locate his whereabouts, and we were able to track him in the eastern part of Metro Manila.)
“Siya mismo yung bumaril doon sa mga pulis na nagsu-surveillance. Yan ay according sa kanyang revelation during a radio interview kasi nagpa-interview pa siya kahapon ng umaga sa local news radio dito sa Cebu while he was hiding in Manila,” Maranan added.
(He was the one who shot the policemen conducting surveillance. That was according to his own revelation during a radio interview because he was interviewed yesterday morning on a local news radio here in Cebu while he was hiding in Manila.)
In a separate interview, Pasig City Police Chief Colonel Hendrix Mangaldan said the suspect was turned over to them on Wednesday evening, October 29, by two city councilors to whom he initially surrendered.
Mangaldan said that according to the suspect, he opted to turn himself in because of the pressure from the nationwide manhunt operations activated against him.
Manto was immediately transported to the Cebu City Police Office.
Maranan said that out of the six individuals involved in the killing of Deiparine, five are already under police custody.
Manto, who was earlier tagged as armed and dangerous due to his involvement in various firearms-related offenses, has a P500,000 bounty on his head.
“According sa intelligence buildup ng Cebu CPS at CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group), itong grupo ni Manto ay involve sa different kind of harassment doon sa kanilang community. May mga reklamo ng illegal discharge of firearm at pagdi-display ng high-powered firearms at ito rin ay nahuli na sa illegal possession of firearms noong 2023 at nakapiyansa. So meron siyang kasamahan doon sa lugar na ‘yun na base sa pag-iimbestiga at pagmamanman ng Cebu CPS ay totoong nag-iingat ng iba’t ibang klase ng baril,” said Maranan.
(According to the intelligence buildup of the Cebu CPS and CIDG, Manto’s group has been involved in various acts of harassment in their community. There have been complaints about the illegal discharge and display of high-powered firearms, and he was also arrested in 2023 for illegal possession of firearms but was able to post bail. He also has companions in that area who, based on the investigation and surveillance of the Cebu CPS, are indeed keeping different kinds of firearms.”)
“Yes, malaki at notorious itong (gun-for-hire group) na ito, the mere fact na nakakapag-ingat sila ng matataas na kalibre ng baril at nakakapagpanakot at nakakapang-harass sila doon sa komunidad na kanilang tinitirhan,” he added.
(Yes, this gun-for-hire group is big and notorious, given that they can keep high-caliber firearms and use them to intimidate and harass people in the community where they live.)
On Saturday night, October 25, Deiparine and another police officer were riding a motorcycle while conducting surveillance on Manto, who was reportedly engaged in illegal firearms trading.
Manto’s group, aboard a pickup truck, then blocked the policemen’s path and opened fire.
Investigators recovered spent shells of various high-powered firearms at the crime scene. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)