Published by the Bohol Chronicle
The former teacher of the slain third year high school student of Tagbilaran Grace Christian School was arrested last Thursday after an expanded manhunt was launched province-wide.
A combined police force from Bilar and Cortes led by P02 Joseph Penaso and P02 Giovanni Rios, swooped down on a store in Bilar town where the suspect, Julius Hubac, 32, married, a resident of Bilar town, was cornered by operatives shortly before noontime last Thursday.
The police team was armed with a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Suceso Arcamo.
The suspect who used to be the teacher of the victim, Mezie Rose B. Onod, 15, at a Catholic school in Cortes town was charged of the crime of Acts of Lasciviousness in criminal case no. 14990 under the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 3 based in the city. This incident happened before Onod was forced to transfer at the Grace Christian School in the city.
Hubac who posted a P12,000 bail was released by the police on the same day.
Earlier, P02 Silvano Palacio of the city PNP made a build-up on the case after he invited witnesses of the crime near the Tagbilaran City Airport for interview at the city PNP.
The gruesome killing of the innocent student shocked the Tagbilaran community as the witnesses confirmed that the lone gunman, which police theorized as a "gun-for-hire", casually approached the victim and shot her from the back at close range. Onod was about to board a tricycle before 5 in the afternoon at the corner of Airport and Lamdagan roads, this city, few meters away from the Grace Christian School.
A day after the incident, TGCS principal Robert Rio issued a statement through the media strongly denouncing the killing in cold blood in broad daylight.
The school came up with a paid ad in a local paper demanding for justice for their slain student.
Police said the killing of the innocent lady student came few days after the case she filed against Hubac was allegedly reopened for investigation.
Police said that Hubac was reportedly seen on the day before the girl was shot.
Bits of information gathered by the various police units will now be consolidated for the formal filing of charges against the suspect.
SUSPECT'S STATEMENT
In an exclusive interview over top-rated Tagbilaran-By-Nite radio program over DYRD last night, Hubac appealed to the public not to immediately conclude that he is the mastermind of the murder.
Hubac narrated that the case filed against him by the victim which was previously child abuse was already dismissed by the provincial prosecutor. However, the victim's family lately appealed to the DOJ Manila which prompted the case to be re-opened and the DOJ revised it to acts of lasciviousness.
Hubac said that he could not manage to mastermind the murder of the victim who is still young and has a promising future.
"I am asking the public to think reasonably because I have really no involvement over the death of the victim", Hubac concluded. (Anthony Anasco)
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