Tagum police chief bares identity of at-large killer of broadcaster

(late upload oct 15, 2014 news)

Tagum City chief of police PSupt. Solomon De Castilla showed yesterday, Tuesday to converging mediamen in Tagum City the identity of the suspected killer of broadcaster Tata Butalid.

During the BizTalk forum sponsored by the Philippine Information Agency at the Big 8 Hotel in Tagum City, the police chief bared the suspect as one Wrenster Libres Azarcon alias “Renren, who allegedly killed the broadcaster last December 11, 2013.

He showed the photo of the suspect with the word “wanted” as the suspect still remains at  large at press time.

The suspect’s identity has been waited by local mediamen for a month already as the police treated it “confidential” pending the arrest of the suspect.

Yesterday, Tuesday PSupt. De Castilla bared the identity even as he asked mediamen and the public to help them find the suspect, ostensibly through reporting and the social media.

But PSupt Castilla already described the case as “solved” in so far as identifying the lead suspect as he also showed the warrant of arrest against Azarcon issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 1 Judge Virginia Tehano-Ang last September 10, 2014.

Castilla added that it was Azarcon who made the shots killing Butalid.

He fled after he shot dead Butalid, who just finished his blocktime radio program in 107.9 F, Radyo Natin Tagum.

“In Butalid case, the police investigation revealed that there were three motorcycle-riding gunmen, one was Azarcon, one was a lookout and another one tailing Azarcon,” he informed mediamen.

Meanwhile, City Mayor Allan Rellon, who also guested the forum, lauded the police efforts especially the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operating in the province for the identification of the lead suspect and the filing of appropriate charges.

He expressed optimism that the police will eventually collar the suspects to give justice to Butalid, who was his classmate and one of his political leaders who ran for city councilor when he ran for mayor last May 2013.

At the time of his death, Butalid was also a barangay kagawad of Brgy. Mankilam in the city.

Butalid’s blocktime radio program “Ang Kasayuran” aired daily in the morning was funded by the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative under the National Electrification Administration (Daneco-NEA), who was then deep in hostile conflict with competing Daneco-Cooperative Development Authority (Daneco-CDA).

The conflict between two competing electric cooperatives fighting for legitimacy and management control for more than three years has now subsided with NEA’s closing of Daneco-CDA’s offices and collection centers in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)