CEBU CITY – The Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO-7) welcomed the arrest of the suspect in the killing of a 19-year-old woman from Panabo City, Davao del Norte last month. Police Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare said Police Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin, chief of PRO-7, is closely monitoring the development of the case. Roberto Gabison, 41, was arrested by police last Sunday, July 30, after a 22-year-old man identified him as the one who instructed him to sell the missing cell phone of the victim, Rhea Mae Tocmo. “The regional director is monitoring the developments. We want to give the Cebu City Police Office the time and the leeway to gather more evidence so that they could file the appropriate charges in court. We can consider that the Tocmo case is cleared or solved once the case is filed,” said Pelare, spokesperson of Aberin. Tocmo’s body was found stuffed in a box and dumped by the road in Barangay Tisa here on July 17. On Saturday, July 29, police arrested one Simeon Gabutero for possession of an unlicensed firearm. Upon interrogation, it was discovered that Gabutero was the one who sold a cell phone owned by Tocmo. But Gabutero claimed that it was Gabison who instructed him to sell Tocmo’s cell phone. Gabison denied Gabutero’s accusations, saying he did not know the victim. Interviewed by reporters on Tuesday, August 1, Gabutero insisted that it was Gabison who asked him to find a buyer of the cell phone. Gabutero narrated that he and Gabison met on a bridge in Barangay Banawa where he was instructed to have the cell phone unlocked. He said when they found out that it was expensive to have the cell phone unlocked by a technician, they just decided to sell the gadget for P1,700. Gabutero said Gabison gave him P500 after he was able to sell the phone. He claimed that he and Gabison knew each other and would often chat when they crossed paths in their area. Gabutero said he learned through Facebook that the police were looking for him after he was identified as the one who sold Tocmo’s cell phone. He also alleged that he saw Tocmo and Gabison arguing near a school in Banawa a day before the victim was found dead.