NUEVA ECIJA KIDNAP-SLAY. Photo shows the area in Sitio Pinagpala, Barangay Imelda Valley, Palayan City where the burned remains of kidnap victim Nadia Casar were recovered on Aug. 1, 2021. PNP chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar has ordered the immediate dismissal of the five Nueva Ecija police officers involved in the crime. (Photo courtesy of PNP-AKG)
MANILA – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Tuesday has ordered the immediate dismissal from the service of five policemen allegedly involved in the kidnapping and murder of a businesswoman in Nueva Ecija.
In a statement, Eleazar identified the police officers responsible for the abduction and killing of Nadia Casar as Staff Sgt. Benedict Matias Reyes, assigned at the Sta. Rosa Municipal Police Station in Nueva Ecija; Staff Sgt. June Malillin, of the Palayan City Police Station; Cpl. Julius Alcantara, of the Nueva Ecija Provincial Police Office Drug Enforcement Unit; Master Sgt. Rowen Martin, assigned at the Cabanatuan City Police Station; and Staff Sgt. Drextemir Esmundo, assigned at the Cabiao Municipal Police Station.
Their civilian cohorts were identified as Franklin Macapagal and Dario Robarios.
The suspects were identified by a witness to the crime. Reyes, Malillin, Alcantara, and Robarios are now in police custody while Martin, Esmundo, and Macapagal remain at large.
Eleazar has directed the Internal Affairs Service to immediately initiate summary dismissal proceedings against the five cops and tasked the Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) and the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group to track down the suspects who remain at large.
All suspects have been charged before the Department of Justice.
Initial investigation from the AKG showed that Casar and the transport network vehicle service (TNVS) driver she hired were kidnapped by at least five men at around 1:45 p.m. on July 20 in Barangay Tagpos, Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija.
The driver was robbed of his cellular phone and PHP4,500 and released by the kidnappers at around 3 a.m. on July 21. The burned remains of Casar were recovered on August 1, at around 2:30 p.m. in Sitio Pinagpala, Barangay Imelda Valley, Palayan City, where it was buried by the suspects. (PNA)
