CARAMORAN, Catanduanes – The last of three suspects wanted for the killing of a teacher here in 2019 was arrested in Quezon City on Thursday, November 26.
Caramoran Chief of Police Lt. Lorenzo M. Alberto identified the suspect as Bernardo B. Asanza, 65, a former policeman who retired as a jail warden.
Asanza was arrested at a food chain in Quezon by elements of the Caramoan Municipal Police, Cubao police, and Quezon City police.
He was arrested at a food chain on Quezon Avenue by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by regional trial court judge Lelu Contreras for the crime of robbery with homicide.
Asanza and two others were the suspects in the killing of Mel Rose T. Baloloy, 37, and a teacher at the Tucao-Maysuram Elementary school last November 5, 2019.
Baloloy and his 13 year-old-son Cedric were about to have their dinner at their home when Asanza and his two cohorts reportedly barged in, and held them up at gunpoint.
The Baloloys were ordered to kneel down as the suspects ransacked their bedroom and took about P850.
The suspects then took Cedric near the stairs of their home where they tied him up, while Mel Rose was brought outside, and was stabbed to death.
The suspects only fled when Cedric was able to untie himself, and managed to seek help from their neighbors.
The National Bureau of Investigation filed the case after a thorough investigation, while the Caramoran municipal government issued a reward of P150,000 for the arrest of the suspects.
William Asanza, Bernardo’s nephew, was the first to be arrested on July 3, 2020, while the other suspect Santiago Rafael fell into the hands of authorities on October 13, 2020.
Bernardo is set to be placed under quarantine period for 21 days at Caramoran Municipal Police Station before the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) will accept his commitment to a detention facility.