A retired Philippine Army official was arrested over his alleged involvement in the killing of a lawyer.
The said official was identified as Ret. Col. Edwin Layese who was reportedly behind the killing of Atty. Joey Luis Wee in Cebu City. According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI-7), Layese was also behind the attempted killing of Atty. Joseph James Gupana in Lapu-Lapu City.
Layese served as chief of security in one of the business districts in the city and was a regional director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in some areas in Mindanao and Western Visayas.
Layese graduated from the Philippine Military Academy Class Bantay Laya in 1994. The NBI is now preparing the charges against the suspect.
Authorities earlier nabbed a former member of the Philippine Army identified as Edgar Benigno Fausto Peralta who is also considered a suspect in the killing of Wee.
The NBI said the former soldiers are members of a gun for hire syndicate the members of which are currently being hunted by authorities. They currently have a lead on the possible mastermind of the series of killings committed against lawyers in Cebu. – John Aroa/PTV Cebu
