Senior Superintendent Bernard Banac | Inquirer file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame welcomed the arrest of Jonas Bueno, a person of interest in the gruesome killing of Christine Lee Silawan.
In a statement provided to reporters, Senior Superintendent Bernard Banac, PNP spokesperson, said Bueno’s arrest is a positive development in Silawan’s case.
Bueno was arrested by law enforcers from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and the Mindanao Area Intelligence Office in Davao Region on Friday afternoon, March 15, at Davao City.
But Banac clarified that Bueno is not the primary suspect on the killing of Silawan, and was arrested in relation to another case.
“His arrest is a positive development as he is considered as one of the possible persons of interest in the ongoing investigation of the death of the 16 -year-old teenager in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu,” Banac said on the statement.
“Bueno is a primary suspect in the murder of a farmer, Trinidad Batucan, 60 years old, on January 13, 2019 at Sitio Agutayan, Lawaan, Danao City, Cebu,” he added.
Bueno is a member of the Bueno Brothers, a notorious group of thieves and murderers, who topped Carmen’s list of most wanted criminals.
Based on the information received by the Danao City Police Station, Bueno and his two older brothers — Junrey and Jovie — kill farmers who refused to give the brothers their harvest.
Batucan was found dead and skinned last January, a death strikingly similar to that of Silawan.
The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) earlier announced that they needed Bueno alive to shed light into the killing of Silawan./dbs