The Local Government Unit of Toledo City in midwest Cebu Province has dangled a P100,000 reward to persons who can provide information that would lead to the arrest of the suspect in the slay of an 18-year-old student.
The student was found dead in a lodging house in Barangay Poblacion. It would be about a month already by October 20, 2024 since the killing happened but the suspect is still at large.
“A hundred thousand pesos reward for the person who would be able to locate or tell us where the suspect is,” Toledo City Mayor Marjorie Perales assured.
Police have already coordinated with their counterpart in the Province of Misamis Oriental based on reports that the suspect is also a fugitive in his hometown after he was charged for the murder of his own father.
Mae Fatima Tagactac, a Grade 12 student, was seen in a CCTV footage to be with a man in Barangay Poblacion, Toledo City.
On September 20, 2024 she was found dead in a room in a lodging house; her hands tied and her mouth gagged with a cloth.
The CCTV footage of a private establishment presented a clear recording of the two who arrived in the area together.
The man was later identified to be Lorben Cabugsan Larot, 43 years old.
His neighbors in the vicinity of Pier 1, Cebu City said that the last time they saw him was on Friday night, September 20, 2024.
He was seen having dinner with his live-in partner, said "Aida," owner of a room that the suspect had rented.
"Aida" added that it was in June 2023 when Larot asked to be accommodated after weeks of sleeping outdoors.
"Aida" added that the suspect eked out a living as a barker at the port and as a taxicab dispatcher.
Neighbors also observed that from the moment Larot arrived in the area, he was always seen sporting on a wig, or a cap, to hide his bald head. He would always wear a face mask or a cloth to cover his mouth.
Police earlier disclosed that the victim met the suspect through an online dating application.
The body of the victim was submitted for an autopsy on September 23, 2024.
