Geraldine Potot is arrested inside a car along Queen City Cemetery in Cebu City at past 9 a.m. today, November 7. | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — All the 7 suspects in the killing last year in Tabogon town in northern Cebu of a 30-year-old cook are finally in jail with the arrest today, November 7, of the wife of the victim in Cebu City.
Geraldine Potot, who is one of the suspects in the killing of her husband, Romneck Potot, was arrested inside a car that was traveling along Queen City Cemetery in Cebu City at past 9 a.m. today, November 7, 2021.
Agent Arnel Pura of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) said they received a tip about the whereabouts of Geraldine and moved in when they were sure she was in the car.
Pura said that they blocked the car and served the warrant of arrest to Geraldine, who had been in hiding since the warrant of arrest accusing her of parricide for the death on July 2020 of her husband was issued on October 27 this year.
“Eventually naka establish ta og information that Geraldine is hiding somewhere in the south and she will be fetched by a motor vehicle diha dapit sa may Queen City. With that information, we organized a team,” Pura said.
(Eventually, we established information that Geraldine was hiding somewhere in the south, and she would be fetched by a motor vehicle near Queen City. With that information, we organized a team.)
Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) stop the car and arrest Geraldine Potot, who is wanted for the 2020 killing of her husband in Tabogon town in northern Cebu. | Paul Lauro
The NBI-7 agent also said that the driver of the car, who was also the owner of the vehicle and a friend of Geraldine, did not know that Geraldine had a pending warrant of arrest.
He was not detained.
Pura also said that Geraldine was aware of her pending warrant of arrest, and she was also in close contact with her family and that she was “purposely” hiding from the law enforcers.
“It appears during our inquiry nga kining driver sa vehicle ug tagiya sa sakyanan have no knowledge of the existence of warrant of arrest,” he said.
(It appears during our inquiry that the driver of the vehicle, who is also the owner of the car, had no knowledge of the existence of the warrant of arrest.)
“Kani man gud si Geraldine, dako man gud ang kausaban sa iyang physical appearance. From the time nga gifile-lan siya og kaso, lahi na iyang barog, nidaot siya…She was able to establish a friendship,” Pura said.
(This Geraldine, there really had been a big change in her physical appearance. From the time that a case was filed against her, there really was a change on the way she looked, she was also thinner … she was also able to establish a friendship.)
Pura said that Geraldine was also with her 2-year-old son when she was arrested.
He said the minor would be turned over to a relative or otherwise, the child would be endorsed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
6 KIN OF WIFE ARRESTED
The 6 other suspects in the killing of Romneck Potot were arrested a day after the warrant of arrest was filed against them or on October 28.
In an earlier report, the six, who are facing a case of murder, are relatives of the victim’s wife.
These included the parents of the wife or the parents in-law of the victim.
Investigation showed that Romneck, who was a cook, was reported missing on July 17, 2020. His body was later found a few meters away from the house of his parents-in-law in Barangay Manlagtang, Tabogon town.
Autopsy results showed that the victim was beaten and died of strangulation.
A minor, who is a witness in the killing, described how the victim was beaten and strangled by the accused.
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