Philippine police arrest suspect in victim's photo

By OLIVER TEVES,Associated Press - Friday, January 7

MANILA, Philippines – A man who appeared in a photograph aiming his gun at a local councilman moments before he was fatally shot in front of his family has been arrested in his northern Philippine hide-out, police said Friday.
The victim, Councilman Reynaldo Dagsa of Caloocan city in metropolitan Manila, took the picture as he was standing outside his house photographing his smiling wife, daughter and mother-in-law on New Year's Eve. The picture earlier led to the arrests of a second suspected gunman and an alleged accomplice.
Police Chief Jimmy Rivera of Isabela province said the latest suspect arrested, Arnel Buenaflor, was captured late Thursday in a boarding house in Aurora township, about 170 miles (270 kilometers) north of Manila. Rivera showed reporters a baseball cap with a distinctive blue-and-red insignia that police recovered from Buenaflor and said it was the same one worn by the suspect in the picture.
Caloocan city police chief Jude Santos said Buenaflor, who had been released on bail while facing robbery charges, admitted to arresting officers that he shot the victim. He claimed the councilman, who had the reputation of being tough on crime, was "heavy handed" on suspects, including him, Santos said.
Police obtained the photograph from Dagsa's family and said it helped them obtain tips and leads that led to the suspects. The photo was first published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Tuesday.
Police said Buenaflor fired four shots and one hit Dagsa in the chest, while the second alleged gunman who is not seen in the photo fired a shot from behind Dagsa but missed him.
Dagsa's family said they did not notice the gunshots because of exploding firecrackers amid the New Year's revelry.
Santos said they tracked Buenaflor down to a rented room in the northern Philippines after police in Isabela recovered a cell phone of his live-in partner, which she apparently dropped in a bus they boarded in their escape from Manila. Santos said she was being questioned by police about her role in helping Buenaflor to hide.
He said police will file murder charges against Buenaflor, the second alleged gunman and the alleged accomplice who acted as a lookout during the shooting.

Reynaldo Dagsa, Filipino Official, Caught His Own Murder Suspect On Camera (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post/AP First Posted: 01- 4-11 09:56 AM   |   Updated: 01- 5-11 01:25 AM

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police investigating the New Year's Eve shooting death of a local councilman did not have to look further than the last photograph the victim took. That photo led to the arrest of two suspects.

The picture, taken outside the councilman's house in metropolitan Manila, clearly shows a man aiming his gun from behind the victim's smiling three-member family, seconds before he was shot.

The relatives – Councilman Reynaldo Dagsa's wife, daughter and mother-in-law – are seen standing beside the family's car, which has lights on, and the gunman, wearing a baseball cap, is bracing himself against the vehicle and pointing his gun at Dagsa. His face is slightly obscured by the gun.
The car was parked along an alley outside the Dagsas' house. In another corner of the photograph is a man police identified as the assassin's lookout.

Police said Tuesday that Dagsa was shot seconds after the photo was taken and died of his wounds by the time he reached a hospital. His family gave police the photo, which ran on the Philippine Daily Inquirer's front page Tuesday.
Caloocan city police chief Jude Santos said a man identified as the gunman in the picture was arrested Monday. His accomplice also was arrested in a separate raid in Manila the same day, Santos said.
He said the main suspect was a car thief who was out on bail and likely sought revenge against Dagsa for ordering his arrest last year.

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Dagsa's wife and daughter, speaking to reporters at their home Tuesday, said the victim had asked them to wake him up before the stroke of midnight so he could join in the usually noisy New Year's street revelry that comes with lots of firecrackers.
The family members said they did not hear a gunshot because the firecrackers were exploding all around them. They only saw Dagsa falling to the ground after he was hit.
They said they rushed him to the hospital but it was too late.