GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Authorities arrested a 79-year-old man wanted for rape in Sapian town, Capiz province, during an operation in a village in Koronadal City on Saturday afternoon.
Koronadal City police chief, Supt. Benjiel Kirby Bajo, identified the suspect as Eduardo Beljera, who was listed as the number seven most wanted person in Sapian.
Bajo said Beljera, who is facing charges for allegedly raping a minor in Sapian town in October 2010, was nabbed at about 1 p.m. in a house in Purok Gracia Villa of Barangay Zone 1-Poblacion.
The operation was led by elements of the South Cotabato Police Provincial Office – Provincial Intelligence Branch, Koronadal City police’s intelligence section, and the Sapian municipal police.
Bajo said the suspect was arrested based on a warrant, with no bail recommended, issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 18 Judge Ignacio Alajar in Roxas City, Capiz.
Beljera, however, managed to leave the area before an arrest warrant could be issued against him.
“Based on the information we received, he eventually settled with his relatives (in Koronadal),” he said.
The suspect is currently under the temporary custody of the Koronadal City police while awaiting the issuance of a court order for his transfer to Sapian, Capiz. (Alejandro Saludo/PNA)
