Mandaue CIB arrests mastermind in the slay of village chief

The suspected mastermind of the killing of a village chief in Mandaue City was arrested Tuesday noon.

Manuel Baclohan, who allegedly ordered the slay of Mantuyong Barangay Captain Antonino Maquillan, was arrested near the Saint Joseph National Shrine at Gomez Street, Mandaue City by the members of the City Intelligence Branch.

Supt. Bernouli Abalos, head of the CIB, said one of his agents reported the presence of an armed person in the area. CIB immediately check the area and found Baclohan carrying a handbag that contained two .45 caliber pistols with two magazines loaded with bullets.

Two big packs of suspected shabu and cash worth P19,000 were also seized from Baclohan.

Abalos said that witnesses identified Baclohan as the mastermind of the killing of Maquillan in May this year. The CIB chief, however, refused to give further investigation on the possible motive of the killing.

Based on initial investigation, Baclohan went on hiding in Lapulapu City since May. He only went to Mandaue City to run an errand.

The suspect denied his involvement in Maquillan’s death and insisted he was friends with the late village chief.

Baclohan said it was even Capt. Maquillan who warned him of a possible plot to kill him after Baclohan’s brother was killed in October 2016.

“Capt. (Maquillan) is my friend. We never quarreled,” Baclohan said in Cebuano.

Baclohan, however, admitted he owned the two firearms but said they are both licensed.

The packs of drugs, meanwhile, does not belong to him, Baclohan claimed. He added that he stopped using illegal drugs since 1998.

Baclohan reportedly surrendered during the Oplan Tokhang in July 2016.