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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Why Pampanga beauty queen, Israeli fiancee were killed according to PNP

Why Pampanga beauty queen, Israeli fiancee were killed according to PNP

Published Jul 8, 2024 07:37 am

A policeman who was dismissed from the service in 2020 planned the killing of Mutya ng Pampanga candidate Geneva Sarita Lopez and her Israeli fiancé Yitshak Cohen in a bid to save the large parcel of land from a land-pawning contract.  

Police Maj. Gen. Leo Francisco, director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said former policeman Michael Angelo Guiang connived with his buddy, former cop Rommel Abuzo, to carry out the killing of the couple after Lopez tried to take the ownership of the land over Guiang’s failure to pay back the money he owes to the beauty queen.

Guiang was dismissed from the police service in 2020 for being AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) while Abuzo was kicked out the police service for the same offense in 2019.

Based on the result of the investigation, Guiang convinced Lopez to meet a supposed buyer of the large parcel of agricultural land in Capas, Tarlac on June 21.

Unknown to Lopez, Francisco said Guiang had already asked Abuzo to pose as the buyer and when they met on June 21, the couple were taken to a remote area where they were allegedly shot by the two cops. 

Their cadavers were exhumed on Saturday, July 6, in Barangay San Vicente in Capas town after the driver hired by Guiang surrendered and revealed the location of where the bodies were buried.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos said Guiang, Abuzo and Jeffrey Santos are now under police custody.

He said two other people are now cooperating with the police while follow-up operations are already ongoing against two other people who allegedly assisted the two cops in carrying out the plan.

Airtight case

Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), assured that the police will be filing airtight cases against those involved in the killing of Lopez and Cohen.

“What we are preparing is a strong case against those involved. And with the pieces of evidence that the CIDG was able to gather in relation to this case, I am confident that those involved would be pinned down,” said Marbil.

He said the cases are two counts of murder, as the two former policemen appeared to have planned the killing.

Abalos, for his part, said two more cases would be filed against Guiang and Abuzo—charges of illegal possession of firearms and illegal possession of explosives as a result of follow-up operations that resulted in their arrest.

In the case of Santos, Abalos said he was arrested in a buy-bust for selling an unlicensed gun.

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