Suspect in radio broadcaster's killing now in NBI-NCR custody

A suspect in the killing of radio broadcaster Cresenciano "Cris" Bundoquin has been taken into custody.

Isabelo Bautista turned himself in over to operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation-National Capital Region past 6 p.m. with his wife, brother, and other close relatives, according to Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez, executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security.

Gutierrez said Bautista had denied any role in the killing. This was supposedly the reason why Bautista turned himself over to the authorities.

Bautista said he left Mindoro on June 8 and decided to hide temporarily on the advice of close friends and relatives.

“Technically and legally, we cannot say that Bautista ‘surrendered’ as he is not a wanted person in the absence of any warrant of arrest,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

“Nevertheless, we are glad that Bautista decided to turn himself in as his statements, later on, would help investigators in establishing all the facts and the truth surrounding the killing of Bundoquin and expedite our quest for justice for Bundoquin,” he added.

Bundoquin  was killed in a shooting incident in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro in May.

Based on a police report, the 50-year-old victim was attacked by two  unidentified perpetrators at 4:20 a.m.

According to the Police Regional Office (PRO) MIMAROPA, one of the two suspects on board a motorcycle shot Bunduquin in front of a sari-sari store. The victim was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital but was declared dead-on-arrival.

Meanwhile, Gutierrez said two witnesses identified Bautista as the gunman while his cohort, Narciso Guntan, died after they crashed while escaping from the crime scene.

Gutierrez said Bautista confirmed that he and Guntan are employees of a big carnival operator in Mindoro.

Due to this, authorities see the rampant proliferation of illegal gambling in the province through local carnivals and local politics as possible motives behind the killing of Bundoquin as these were severely criticized in his radio programs.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a parallel investigation into the killing of Bundoquin. —with Joahna Lei Casilao/NB/KBK, GMA Integrated News