The man who allegedly shot dead a Grade 7 student in his school in Calamba City was also his registered guardian, police said.
Calamba City police chief PLTC Jacinto Malinao told CNN Philippines’ Newsroom that based on the student’s enrollment records, security guard Renan Valderama is his registered guardian.
Malinao had earlier said that Valderama had been taking care of the 15-year-old ever since his mother was detained at the local Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facilities for possession of illegal drugs.
Malinao said Valderama’s status as the student’s guardian, and his familiarity with people in the school, allowed him easy entry into Castor Alviar National High School in Barangay Masili, where he supposedly fired at the victim in a classroom just 15 feet away from the school’s entrance.
Department of Education (DepEd) spokesperson Annalyn Sevilla told CNN Philippines' Balitaan that the student might have sought the guardianship of Valderama as his mother is in jail and his father is already dead.
The police and the DepEd admit that the school had lax security. Malinao said the school has no security guards.
“Since the suspect was in civilian clothes and wearing a backpack, he was able to hide the firearms used in the killing. And based on the accounts of the witnesses, the suspect is the registered guardian,” Malinao said.
READ: Grade 7 student shot dead in Laguna school by Security Guard
But Sevilla defended the school, saying it is still commendable compared to other learning institutions as it has installed CCTVs which helped identify the suspect.
She added that the suspect did not enter through the main gate but through a passageway from a nearby construction site.
Police are now studying if the school has any liability in the fatal shooting of the student.
Malinao said the manhunt is still on for the suspect, but admitted that so far the police’s methods to track Valderama down have failed.
According to police, Valderama and the 15-year-old victim were living together. Sevilla also said that there are informal reports that the two had an "intimate relationship," but refused to dwell on this further due to the sensitivity of the issue.
WATCH FULL REPORT HERE:
Calamba police: Suspect was the registered guardian of victim in Calamba shooting https://t.co/msCLmwV0u6 pic.twitter.com/iJJ9jTCaAk— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) July 5, 2019
Found this article interesting? Share it with your friends! 👍🏼
This article first appeared on CNN Philippines.
No comments:
Post a Comment