Reward for information on suspects climbs to P4.5M

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

After earlier being accused of involvement in the recent ambush that claimed the lives of Moises Padilla officials, incumbent Municipal Councilor Michael Garcia and former Association of Barangay Captains President Mark Garcia, then later released by the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, incumbent Moises Padilla Municipal Councilor Agustin ‘Nene’ Grande III offered an additional P2.5 million to the P2 million reward for any information leading to the arrest of the suspects involved in the murders.

The town official’s pledge come after Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. and former Negros Occidental fourth district Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer earlier offered P1 million, which was followed by Negros Occidental third district Rep. Alfredo Benitez and Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson putting forward an additional P1 million. The total bounty is now P4.5 million.

Grande reaffirmed he was not involved, claiming he was campaigning at the time of the incident in the town’s Barangay Magallon Cadre, which is around 10 kilometers from where the murders took place in Barangay Inolingan. The town official noted, his name was likely mentioned as he had earlier filed murder charges against Moises Padilla Vice Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo over the 2016 killing of his brother, Magdaleno Grande.

“I have nothing to do with the Garcia killings as I do not hold any personal grudges against them,” Grande stated. “I do not need to put the law into my hands; I have already sought the proper remedy [by] filing a criminal complaint against her.”

The municipal councilor was earlier released on insufficient legal and factual basis for his arrest, along with a lack of probable cause./DGB, WDJ