CARAMONAN, Catanduanes – A retired jail warden tagged as one of the suspects in the killing of a teacher here in 2019 was arrested by police in a food chain in Quezon City.
Police identified the suspect as 65-year-old Bernardo B. Asanza, a former policeman who retired as Bureau of Jail Management and Penology warden. Caramoran chief of police Lt. Lorenzo M. Alberto led the joint operatives from Caramoran Municipal Police, Cubao Police, and Quezon City Police in arresting the suspect at 9:25 p.m. on Nov. 26 inside the Burger King at the corner of Quezon Ave. and Canlaon St., Quezon City.
The cops served the arrest warrant against Asanza, which was issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 43 Judge Lelu Contreras for robbery with no bail recommended.
Asanza and two others were accused of killing of Mel Rose T. Baloloy, 37, a public school teacher at Tucao-Maysuram Elementary school on Nov. 5, 2019. Baloloy and her 13-year-old son Cedric, a Grade 8 student, were about to have their dinner when the two suspects forcibly entered and ordered them to kneel down at gunpoint.
The suspects ransacked the bedroom and took more or less P850.
The suspects then brought Cedric near the stairs and tied his hands, while Melrose was brought outside and stabbed to death.
The suspects then fled after the crime. Cedric was able to untie himself after an hour and managed to seek help from their neighbors.
The National Bureau of Investigation filed the case after a thorough investigation while Caramoran Local Government Unit last year issued a reward of P150,000 for the arrest of the suspects.
The two other suspects — William Asanza and Santiago Rafael — were arrested on July 3, 2020 and October 13, 2020, respectively, They are now under the custody of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). (Jinky Tabor)
