By CESAR JOLITO III

The Police Regional Office in the Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) has arrested the No. 2 Most Wanted Person in the region during a police operation at Glenwood Subdivision in Bacolod City’s Barangay Estefania on Tuesday, September 23.

The suspect, identified only as alias “Hernane,” 62 years old, and a caretaker from Sitio Esperanza, Barangay Talotog in Negros Occidental’s Murcia town, was collared by the Murcia police tracker team.

Police said Hernane faces two counts of murder for allegedly conspiring with three other individuals to gun down sugarcane plantation caretakers.

Investigators said the killings stemmed from a land dispute between the owner and a positioner over who had the right to harvest the crop first.

The arrest was made by virtue of a warrant issued on September 1 by Judge Amcel Leyte Mercader of the Regional Trial Court Branch 48 in Bacolod.

No bail was recommended.

Authorities said the suspect was informed of his rights and the provisions of the Anti-Torture Law in a language he understood.

The operation was also documented using two body-worn cameras in compliance with standard protocol.

The accused is now under the custody of the Murcia police for proper disposition./CJ, WDJ