murder

• Cafgu arrested for hacking couple to death in Samal

A CIVILIAN Active Auxiliary (CAA) member is facing a charge for allegedly hacking a couple to death inside their rented house in Zone 6, Barangay Villarica, Babak District, on Friday afternoon, Oct. 17, 2025.

The victims were identified only as alias Jonathan, 43, a security officer, and his wife alias Pearl, 31. They had reportedly lived in Samal for two years.

The suspect, alias Ador, 36, is a member of the CAA Task Force Samal and a resident of Purok 6, Sitio Kaimito.

According to Lt. Col. Hamlet Lerios, Island Garden City of Samal police chief, the suspect eventually admitted the crime after being confronted with CCTV evidence.

“He confessed that at the time of the incident. He was under the influence of liquor and entered the victims’ house, where he repeatedly hacked them using a bolo,” he said.

“One of the things I am looking at is that he seemed to have a liking for [the female victim]. He said things that indicated his interest in the woman,” Lerios stated in a media interview.

The victims were found lifeless inside their home by co-workers. The child of the couple is currently under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Mayor vows justice

Meanwhile, Mayor Lemuel “Toto” Reyes met with the victim’s family on Saturday and assured them of the city government’s assistance and commitment to ensuring due process.

“I immediately posted a reward of P100,000 for anyone who could point to or arrest the perpetrator to speed up the investigation,” Mayor Reyes told reporters. “Samal is known to be very peaceful, which is what we guard fiercely. We cannot tolerate such happenings here—even minor crimes like theft—criminality should not penetrate our island.”

Addressing concerns that the suspect was a CAA member, Mayor Reyes explained that they were hired and paid by the LGU as Job Order (J.O.) workers and were less extensively trained than regular military personnel.

Task Force pulls out personnel

In a separate interview, Col. Sony Mariñas, Task Force Davao commander, confirmed that they have pulled out the entire platoon of personnel from the suspect’s patrol base to allow for a full investigation and system review.

“We replaced them with new people to ensure continuity of operations and, at the same time, to make the personnel available for investigation,” Mariñas said, noting that approximately 18 personnel were pulled out.

Mariñas vowed to conduct internal evaluations, including random drug testing and psychosocial intervention, to prevent similar incidents.

“This incident, we will not take for granted. We know there are many things we must fix professionally, operationally, and personally,” Mariñas added.