MANILA – The Puerto Princesa City Police Office Station 2 in Palawan province has filed criminal complaints against the two suspects behind the killing of 22-year-old saleslady Jovelyn Galleno whose remains were found last Aug. 23.
In a statement Thursday, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said the complaint for the crime of rape with homicide was filed against the suspects before the Puerto Princesa City Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday.
“This is a breakthrough for the case despite complications along the way, our police personnel were never discouraged to resolve this crime. Now that we have suspects, the wheel of justice is moving forward. Since this case has been submitted to a competent prosecutor’s office already, the PNP trusts in the system that it will appreciate the collated pieces of evidence pushing the case further. We will let the judicial proceeding take its course,” he said.
Azurin lauded the police personnel who worked doubly hard to fulfill their commitment to resolving the case.
Police Regional Office (PRO) 4-B (Mimaropa) director Brig. Gen. Sidney Hernia said the admission of one of the suspects who also pointed to the location of Galleno's skeletal remains paved the way for the immediate resolution of the incident.
“We assure the victim's family that the suspects behind the reprehensible crime are brought to justice. The public can expect that the PNP is doing its best to maintain the peace and order in the entire Mimaropa region, most particularly in Puerto Princesa City,” Hernia said in a separate statement.
On Aug. 23, Galleno's skeletal remains were found in Purok Pulang Lupa, Barangay Sta. Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City, more than two weeks after she went missing on Aug. 5.
The results of the DNA examination conducted by the PNP Forensic Group in Camp Crame, Quezon City revealed that samples taken from the skeletal remains matched with the samples of Jovelyn Galleno’s mother.
The PNP on Wednesday said it welcomes the parallel investigation to be conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the case of Galleno.
This came after Galleno's family asked the NBI to conduct its own investigation in the case, as they expressed concerns about the direction of a probe separately being done by the PNP. (PNA)
