Suspect in ombudsman prosecutor’s slay nabbed
The suspect in the killing of a pregnant prosecutor assigned to the Office of the Ombudsman was arrested less than seven hours after he committed the crime in Quezon City on Monday.
The killing of assistant special prosecutor Madonna Joy Ednaco-Tanyag, 32, was plain robbery and not workrelated, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said yesterday.
“She was a chance victim. Apparently, she resisted and was stabbed in the process. It was an incident of robbery gone wrong,” Albayalde said.
Police apprehended Angelito Avenido Jr., alias Moymoy, 31, a jeepney barker, during a follow-up operation in Barangay Culiat at around 5:45 p.m.
Avenido owned up to the crime, Albayalde said.
Charges of robbery with homicide were filed against the suspect before the Quezon City prosecutor’s office.
‘High on drugs’
Albayalde said Avenido had just sniffed shabu prior to his arrest.
“It means that he was high on drugs when he staged the crime. He was only after the money, which he would use to buy drugs to support his addiction,” Albayalde said.
The PNP chief vowed to intensify the war on drugs until all pushers and users are put in prison or rehabilitation centers.
Avenido was presented to media by Albayalde along with Chief Superintendents Guillermo Eleazar and Joselito Esquivel, director of the National Capital Region Police Office and Quezon City Police District (QCPD), respectively at the NCRPO headquarters at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig.
The suspect said he stabbed Tanyag three times in her white Honda City parked along Visayas Avenue in Barangay Vasra after she resisted the robbery at around 11:20 a.m.
Esquivel said the prosecutor’s stab wounds were all fatal.
Tanyag, who was five months pregnant, was about to return to her car after buying milk tea when Avenido tried to grab her handbag.
She was rushed by barangay officials to the East Avenue Medical Center where she died an hour later.
Minutes after the incident, Esquivel formed Special Investigation Task Group Tanyag headed by Senior Superintendent Ronaldo Ylagan, QCPD deputy director for operations, who managed to get a video footage showing Avenido fleeing the scene.
The video showed Avenido sporting a black t-shirt, blue jersey shorts, a ball cap, slippers and tattoos on his arms, which matched the description given by witnesses.
Ylagan said a witness, Rogelio Dairo, claimed that Avenido admitted to him that he killed Tanyag and asked him to watch the news to prove that he was telling the truth.
Case closed
Albayalde said they considered the case closed, but the investigation would continue until all angles are looked into.
He said Avenido suffered bruises because he resisted arrest.
“This case proves that police are not in the habit of killing suspects who are not fighting back,” Albayalde said.
Tanyag’s husband, Cris, a dentist, could not say if the killing was related to her work as ombudsman prosecutor.
According to Albayalde, Avenido was released recently from detention.
The suspect served time in prison in Cagayan de Oro City from Aug. 15, 2007 to Feb. 14, 2018 for possession of illegal drugs.
Avenido arrived in Metro Manila on March 30 and worked as a jeepney barker.
Police said they were looking into the possible involvement of Avenido in other crimes as they recovered wallets, shoes and other personal belongings in the area where he was arrested.
Killing sparks outrage
The killing of Tanyag sparked outrage online, with her colleagues and friends calling for justice.
In a statement, the University of the Philippines in Manila called on authorities to dig deeper into the case. Tanyag is an alumna of UP Manila.
“The UP Manila political science program condemns this barbaric act in the strongest terms,” read the statement posted on its Facebook page.
“We call on law enforcement authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice, and put an end to the worsening climate of impunity in the country,” it added.
As news of her death circulated on social media, friends and colleagues expressed outrage, describing the killing as “senseless” and a “big loss” in the fight against corruption.
A previous Facebook post of her husband showing Tanyag working past midnight on a Sunday went viral online.
“This is my wife working to prosecute erring and corrupt officials. This is her battle, our battle. This is how far her patriotism moves her against well-funded law firms and powerful families,” read the post.
“With her decade old notepad, a few cups of coffee and drive, she is unstoppable,” it added.
The post has been shared over 1,400 times as of yesterday.
Sen. Richard Gordon condemend the killing of Tanyag.
He called on the PNP to act on Tanyag’s case as well as the other lawyers who were killed before her.
“We commiserate and offer our condolences to her family,” Gordon said.
“Security must be guaranteed for those who work in our criminal justice system,” he added.
Good, trusted lawyer
Though she only joined the ombudsman in 2016 to fight corruption in government, Tanyag was a member of a preliminary investigation panel probing graft cases.
“When you are assigned in a panel, you are trustworthy and a good lawyer,” one of her superiors at the Office of the Ombudsman, who asked not to be named, said.
Her fellow prosecutors at the anti-graft agency believed that the killing was not workrelated.
“We think it was spontaneous, not premeditated. Wrong place at the wrong time,” one of her fellow lawyers said.
They said she was a team player, diligent and cooperative with everyone.
“She is generous and simple. She has a practical approach in money matters and in life,” they added.