Police looking at robbery as motive in case of slain victim found in Pulangbato

Mechanic Juanito Bontilao was found lifeless with a gunshot wound, last July 15, 2020, in Brgy. Pulangbato, Cebu City. | Photo courtesy of Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Police investigators are now looking at robbery as the motive in the killing of a 31-year-old mechanic whose body was found in Barangay Pulangbato, Cebu City last Wednesday, July 15, 2020.

Police Major Jonathan Taneo, Talamban Police Station chief, told CDN Digital in a phone interview Thursday, July 16, that investigation on the incident is still ongoing.

The victim was identified as Juanito Rabadon Bontilao, a resident of Barangay Pung-ol Sibugay, who worked as a mechanic for a car dealership in Mandaue City.

As investigators gathered information from witnesses in a bid to identify the suspects behind Bontilao’s killing, Taneo said they are not ruling out robbery as a possible angle.

“When investigators arrived to assess the crime scene and collected initial information from the victim’s relatives, they did not rule out robbery,” said Taneo in Cebuano.

Citing initial findings from investigators tasked on the case, Taneo said the victim’s wallet, identification cards, and mobile phone were missing. He also said that investigators described the crime scene as a dimly-lit place notorious for previous incidents of robbery.

“Based on our initial investigations, and interviews from the family, the victim went out last Tuesday to buy several car parts for his job. He did not come back until he was discovered lifeless with a bullet wound on his body last Wednesday,” explained Taneo.

Taneo also said the family told police officers that Bontilao, who was single, had no history of conflicts. But he added that they are not also ruling out love-triangle as another angle.

“But we’re still looking more closely on his history and previous relationships, especially when it was found out that he and his previous girlfriend recently broke up,” he said. /bmjo