By: Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY — A suspected leader of an alleged criminal gang operating in northern Iloilo province, has been collared at a checkpoint in Hinoba-an town, Negros Occidental province.
Sr. Supt. Marlon Tayaba, Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) chief identified the suspect as Arturo “Master Pedic” Balume Sr. who was arrested Thursday together with his wife Honey Grace, son Arturo Jr., and two other relatives through the joint effort of PRO-6’s Regional Intelligence Division, Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) and IPPO.
Chief Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, director of Police Regional Office (PRO-6), said Balume and Arturo Jr. are suspects in the murder of two bodyguards of a former mayoralty candidate in Estancia, Iloilo.