By Jennifer P. Rendon
A sugarcane truck driver was shot and killed on the morning of September 16 in Maasin, Iloilo.
Arvin Morbo, 42, of Barangay Caigon, Maasin, was gunned down while jogging along the roadside in Barangay Mandog. He sustained two gunshot wounds below his armpit.
According to Major Jose Nemias Pamplona, Maasin police chief, the incident occurred around 5:30 a.m., but authorities were informed 30 minutes later.
Within two hours, police arrested the suspect, 57-year-old Noel Policarpio, a sugarcane planter and fellow truck driver from Barangay Bagacay West, Maasin. He was apprehended in a rice field near his home.
Pamplona said the police quickly identified Policarpio as the suspect.
“We have an eyewitness, and his statement was corroborated by CCTV footage from the crime scene,” Pamplona said.
The witness, who had stopped by the roadside to relieve himself, claimed he saw the shooting while heading to a nearby gas station. His account aligned with the CCTV footage.
Police went to Policarpio’s house to negotiate his surrender, but he fled out the back before being apprehended in a rice field. No firearm was recovered.
Pamplona said Policarpio neither admitted nor denied the crime but claimed he had been ordered to monitor and kill Morbo, alleging the victim worked for his enemy.
However, Policarpio failed to provide any evidence for his claims.
Pamplona added that the suspect may have mistaken Morbo, who regularly jogged in the area, as someone sent to target him.
Morbo’s sister said her brother had a routine of jogging after his morning coffee. He also worked as a caretaker at a transloading station near Policarpio’s sugarcane plantation.
Pamplona described Policarpio as hot-tempered, though he had no prior arrests. The suspect is in police custody, pending the filing of charges.
