By Jennifer P. Rendon
One of Western Visayas’ most wanted individuals was arrested in the afternoon of April 12 in San Joaquin, Iloilo.
Alias “Jelly,” a resident of Barangay Tuy-an East, Maasin, Iloilo, was apprehended during a cockfight at Barangay Jawod, a mountainous village located about 25 kilometers from the town proper.
Jelly is facing charges for murder under Criminal Case No. 40253 and violation of Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.
Judge Marie Yvette Go of the Regional Trial Court Branch 37 in Iloilo City issued the arrest warrant for murder on May 11, 2016.
No bail was recommended for temporary liberty.
Meanwhile, Judge Redentor Eugenio Esperanza of the Regional Trial Court Branch 76 in Janiuay, Iloilo issued the arrest warrant for violation of RA 10591 on Aug. 2, 2023.
A PHP120,000 bail was set for provisional release.
Before Jelly was arrested, a brief firefight occurred between six unidentified armed men and police operatives from the 1st Iloilo Provincial Mobile Force Company, along with personnel from the San Joaquin and Maasin municipal police stations and the Iloilo Police Provincial Office – Provincial Intelligence Unit (IPPO-PIU).
Reports said that the gunmen opened fire just as the police team was about to serve the arrest warrants.
The exchange of gunfire lasted around five minutes.
No police officers were injured in the encounter.
The Iloilo Police Provincial Office is investigating whether the armed individuals were members of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army – Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB).
Major Rolando Araño, IPPO spokesperson, said authorities are verifying the possible connection between the armed suspects and the RPA-ABB, as well as Jelly’s alleged links to the group.
“If these individuals are indeed associated with a specific group, such as the RPA-ABB, appropriate criminal charges will be filed as more information and evidence are gathered,” Araño said.
Police are also probing whether the group had been providing protection to illegal cockfighting operations in the area.
Authorities revealed that the operating team had monitored Jelly’s presence in Barangay Jawod for over a month.
However, reports indicate he was not organizing the cockfight, but had merely attended the event as part of the barangay’s annual fiesta.
During the operation, police recovered an M16 Armalite rifle with a defaced serial number, another M16 rifle with an attached M203 grenade launcher (serial number 91373), a black bandolier, four short steel magazines, a plastic magazine, a long steel magazine, a 40mm ammunition, two plastic canisters for rifle grenades, one rifle grenade, and 103 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition.
Jelly is now under police custody and will be turned over to the appropriate court.
