Two suspects behind the killing of an Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) graduate student was arrested, according to a Rappler report on Wednesday, December 5.
The online news website said the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) confirmed to them that the perpetrators were arrested in Barangay Tumana in Marikina City. The identity of the suspects, however, was not yet revealed.
This development came after Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro offered a P500,000 reward to anyone who can pinpoint or give information about the suspects in Francis de Leon’s slay.
The victim, last Saturday, was found lifeless, bearing stab wounds, in J. Molina Street corner Blue Bird Street at Barangay Concepcion, Marikina City.
In a Facebook post of a certain Dennis Villoso, who claimed to be the batchmate of de Leon’s late father, the ADMU graduate student was walking home from a coffee shop at Marikina Heights, when he was robbed.
“Kinuha ang kanyang cellphone at hindi pa nakuntento ay ginilitan pa ang bata sa leeg bago sinaksak sa dibdib na tumama sa kanyang puso na nagresulta sa kanyang agarang pagkamatay (His mobile phone was taken away from him but the suspect was not contented that is why he slit the kid’s neck before he stabbed de Leon’s chest that resulted to his immediate death),” Villoso said in his post.
“Iniwan siya ng salarin na walang buhay habang hawak-hawak pa ang hamburger na pasalubong pauwi sa mga kapatid (The suspect left him lifeless while he was holding a hamburger in his hand which he was supposed to give to his siblings),” he added.
De Leon, who was said to be a victim of robbery, previously worked at the Department of Education’s (DepEd’s) Disaster Risk Reduction Management Service (DRRMS) before he took his master’s degree in Disaster Mitigation and Resiliency (DRR) in ADMU.
The Executive Committee of the DepEd earlier condemned the “senseless” killing of its former employee and called for a “speedy, thorough, and just” resolution to de Leon’s case.
“Francis dedicated his 23-year life to imagining and creating a more safe, resilient, and just world.
He was willing to give his all for what is right. And he did,” it said in a statement posted on DepEd Tayo Facebook page.
“He is fondly remembered and sorely missed not only by those he worked for and within the DepEd’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service, but also the countless others whose lives he touched and protected,” it added.