CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 24 August) — The suspect in the killing of a Jesuit volunteer and the wounding of her housemate last Friday afternoon in Pangantucan town in Bukidnon has been arrested.
Police S/Sgt. Michael Villasan of the Pangantucan police station said the suspect, Arnold Naquilla, 36, a resident of Santo Nino Village in Pangantucan town, was arrested in his residence at around 5 p.m. Friday.
READ: Jesuit volunteer stabbed to death in Bukidnon; another wounded
Villasan said Genifer “Gen” Buckly, 24, and lawyer Anne Kathleen Gatdula 30, of Batch 40 of the Jesuit Volunteers Philippines (JVP), allegedly caught Naquilla stealing their belongings inside their boarding house early Friday afternoon.
Jesuit volunteer Genifer ‘Gen’ Buckly, from Guipos, Zamboanga del Sur was stabbed to death in Pangantucan, Bukidnon, the first volunteer killed in a violent incident in the 40-year JVP. Photo from Gen Buckly’s FB page
“We don’t know his motive year but Naquilla stabbed the victims instead of surrendering,” Villasan said.
Lawyer Antonio La Vina, a Jesuit volunteer, Batch 2, said Buckly was “our first violent casualty in 40 years. One volunteer died of natural causes more than 20 years ago.”
Villasan said Naquilla but was arrested based on the accounts of witnesses who saw him running away from the victims’ house.
He said they brought Naquilla to the hospital where Gatdula was recuperating but the victim was “too traumatized” to see the suspect.
“Gatdula is still in shock and traumatized by the incident,” Villasan told MindaNews by phone.
He said they instead brought a cartographic drawing of Naquilla to Gatdula for identification.
“Gatdula confirmed said Naquilla is the suspect but we know this is still circumstantial,” he said.
Villasan said they are hoping Gatdula would be well enough to publicly identify Naquilla.
Buckly, who is a member of Batch 40 of JVP, has a BS-Secondary Education degree from the Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga City.
Villasan said members of the JVP went to Pangantucan on Saturday to bring Buckly’s remains to her hometown in Guipos, Zamboanga del Sur. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
