Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is urging the killers of Grade 11 student Nicus Balagosa, who was shot and killed inside his house, to surrender or else the full force of the law will be used against them.

“No matter what, no one has the right to take the life of another, and to put the law in his own hands,” Benitez said in a statement relayed by his spokesperson, Atty. Caesar Distrito.

“That ours is a government of laws and not of men, and therefore, we should seek justice through our institution, and not in our means,” he added.

Benitez is urging the suspects in the alleged rape case to also surrender to the authorities.

“The mayor is also assuring them that their rights will be respected, and they will be afforded all the legal remedies that they are entitled to in accordance with our laws and constitution,” he said.

Benitez also directed Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) director Colonel Noel Aliño to make sure that Balagosa’s family would be secured, as they claimed that they feared for their lives.

He also directs them to file a tight case against the perpetrators so that justice will be served to the victim, the statement added.

Balagosa, 20 years old, was shot to death in front of his parents in Bacolod City’s Barangay Granada on June 2.

The suspects forcibly entered the room and shot him multiple times.

Balagosa was declared dead in a hospital after sustaining four bullet wounds.

Earlier, BCPO Police Station 5 prepared the documents to file a murder complaint against Balagosa’s gunman and his four companions.

The police are eyeing rape as the motive in the killing of the victim./WDJ