PAVIA, Iloilo — Police have arrested the suspect behind the April 14 fatal shooting of a confectionery plant manager and the wounding of another employee in Barangay Ungka 1, cracking the case just two days after a workplace grudge erupted into deadly violence.
Joint operatives of the Pavia Municipal Police Station (MPS) led by Police Captain Ritz Field Presquito and the Leganes MPS arrested Lloyd Katipunan, 40, at his residence in Barangay Gua-an, Leganes on Wednesday night, April 15.
Police Lieutenant Garry Tayongtong, deputy police chief of Pavia, said Katipunan worked as a security and closed-circuit television (CCTV) operator at the Goldilocks plant in Pavia. He was immediately taken into custody at the Pavia MPS following his arrest.
Police are filing the following charges against the suspect:
* murder – for the fatal shooting of Divine Grace Castillo, 32, the Goldilocks-Pavia plant manager who was declared dead on arrival at the hospital
* frustrated murder – for the attack on John Shane Somblingo, 28, a Human Resource staff member who remains under medical treatment for gunshot wounds
The shooting occurred shortly after 7 p.m. on April 14 as the victims were waiting for a ride home after their shift.
Tayongtong said the suspect fled after the attack and moved across several locations before his arrest.
“Unluckily, ang pusil nga gin gamit ka suspect waay pa naton na-recover kay ang suspect, after niya gin himo ang krimen, damo ini siya may gin pangkadtuan bag-o nadakpan,” Tayongtong said.
Investigators said the attack was triggered by a work-related dispute, with Katipunan allegedly harboring resentment after repeated reprimands and a looming termination.
“Ang motibo gid diri work-related. Previously, naakigan ini si Katipunan,” Tayongtong said.
“Subject ini siya for termination kay kapila ini siya nadakpan nga gakatulog sa iya ubra. Guard ang tawag sa iya, pero ang iya gid nga ubra ga-monitor sa CCTV,” he stressed.
Authorities also pointed to the suspect’s history of firearms-related incidents, raising concerns over a pattern of violent behavior.
“Ang suspect naton indi pa mag-release sang iya statement,” Tayongtong said.
Police said Katipunan was previously involved in a shooting incident with a fellow security guard in Mandurriao, Iloilo City three years ago.
He was also removed as chief of tanods in Barangay Gua-an in 2020 following a firearm discharge incident.
In 2021, he was arrested after authorities recovered a homemade .45 caliber pistol from his possession./PN
