2 suspects in killing of UPLB student fall - police

A bank security guard linked to the abduction and brutal killing of a 19-year-old University of the Philippines Los Baños student this week has been arrested, police said Friday. Laguna police chief Senior Superintendent Gilbert Cruz said the bank guard, Lester Ivan Lopez Rivera, fell after the first suspect — a tricycle driver — was arrested Thursday. "Kahapon meron tayong nakuhang isang suspect diyan, tricycle driver, at sasakyan na ginamit sa pag-abduct at pagtapon sa pinagpatayan ng bata. Ngayon lang, may news kami nakuha ang isa sa pumatay, Lester Ivan Lopez Rivera," Cruz said in an interview on dzBB radio. He did not give the details of where or how Rivera was arrested. Earlier reports identified the arrested tricycle driver as Percival de Guzman. Rivera faces charges of murder, even as police look for evidence of theft or robbery, Cruz said. Rivera and de Guzman were linked to the brutal death of Given Grace Cebanico, 19, whose body was found near the UPLB area last Tuesday. Cebanico was found handcuffed and gagged, with a gunshot wound to the head and bruises on the body. The case is reminiscent of the Sarmenta-Gomez case, a rape-slay case, also in Los Baños, that reached national headlines in the early 90s. The victims — Eileen Sarmenta, who was raped and murdered, and Allan Gomez, murdered — were also UPLB students. Six people were found guilty of the crime, including then-Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez.

Bank guard Cruz described Rivera as the guard of a bank near the place of the abduction. "Siya ang guard na sinasabi ng tricycle driver, ito ang bumaril at ang baril na ginamit kinukuha sa agency nila," he said. He added that they believe the handcuffs used in the crime were same that Rivera used in his work. On the other hand, he said they are still determining if the girl was raped, although he said there were "indicators" she was molested. "Sa ngayon indicators nakita natin na hinalay dahil nakita natin wala siyang saplot sa ibaba at naka-unstrap ang bra sa pang-itaas," he said. — RSJ, GMA News