A CIDG operative serves the arrest warrant for murder on a 'Jalal, a national most wanted person, during an operation in Lanao del Norte o April 4, 2025. (photo: CIDG)
Police have arrested one of the country’s most wanted persons for his alleged involvement in the killing of a local broadcast journalist in Laguna almost 20 years ago in a follow-up operation in Lanao del Norte.
Police Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said the operation was carried out after his men confirmed the presence of the suspect in Barangay Poblacion in Sapad town.
Armed with an arrest warrant for murder, CIDG operatives, backed by local military forces, raided the area and resulted in the arrest of the suspect, identified only as Jalal.
“For almost two decades, the accused went into hiding and transferred places from Laguna to Lanao del Norte to evade arrest. However, he was pursued and collared by the relentless CIDG tracker team,” said Torre.
“This is part of our intensified manhunt operations against most wanted persons and fugitives across the country,” he added.
Torre said the arrested suspect was tagged in the killing of Robert Ramos, a broadcaster for the Katapat community paper in Laguna who was gunned down in Cabuyao, Laguna in November 2005.
He said the arrested suspect was in the national level’s most wanted list with a reward of P150,000.
“With this arrest, we have helped the victim and victim’s family attain the justice they deserve,” said Torre.