Fifteen days after the killing of Cebu-based lawyer Joey Luis B. Wee in Cebu City, operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation arrested the principal suspect in the case while he was hiding in his rented apartment in Cabuyao, Laguna, an official said Tuesday.
NBI Officer-in-Charge Eric Distor identified the murder suspect as Fausto Peralta, who was positively identified by the victim’s wife, lawyer Marilevi Lim Wee, in a police line-up right after his arrest.
Distor said the NBI was now pursuing the other suspects in the killing.
Wee was killed in broad daylight on Nov. 23, 2020, while walking on the way to his office in Kasambangan, Cebu City. He was taken to the hospital by his wife and his law firm associates after he was shot, but succumbed to two gunshot wounds.
Distor ordered lawyer Rennan Augustus Oliva, regional director of the Central Visayas Regional Office, to investigate the killing and pursue the assailants. Oliva then ordered a region-wide pursuit of the suspects.
Based on the CCTV footage gathered by the NBI and and the testimonies of witnesses, the operatives were able to identify the physical appearance of the suspects, including all the vehicles that were used in the casing and eventual killing of Wee.
Distor said that, after a very tiring 15 days of a continuing pursuit, the NBI Team consisting of NBI team eventually located and arrested Peralta on Dec. 8 while he was hiding in his apartment.