Raymond Dominguez, 26, placed himself under the custody of the Bulacan police on Saturday night, and his lawyer said that Dominguez’s brother, Roger, also planned to turn himself in.

Raymond, a native of Calumpit town, denied that he and his brother were involved in the murders.

“This is not a surrender. I sought police custody … because we have not done anything wrong. The accusations against us are not true,” Dominguez, speaking in Filipino, told reporters.

He said he decided to seek police custody to ensure his safety after he heard that a manhunt had been launched for him and his brother.

Chief Supt. Alan Purisima, Central Luzon police director, rejected speculation that the Philippine National Police was protecting the Dominguez brothers.

“It was they, as civilians, who sought protection from the police,” Purisima said.

In the past, several members or former members of the PNP have been found or alleged to be in cahoots with criminal syndicates.

Roaming without handcuffs

At the Bulacan police headquarters in Camp General Alejo Santos on Sunday, Dominguez was “without handcuffs” and “freely roaming” the camp, said Senior Supt. Wendy Rosario, acting provincial director.

Dominguez submitted a handwritten waiver stating that the police did “not force” him to present himself to authorities.

“I told him there are conditions that he needs to put into writing. For instance, he is telling me that his safety is in danger. If that’s the case, he cannot just leave. He should abide by some terms,” Rosario told the Inquirer.

Dominguez was accompanied by his mother and his lawyer when he appeared before the Bulacan police at past 10 p.m. on Saturday.

His mother entrusted Dominguez to Rosario, who called Dominguez’s action a “voluntary surrender.”

Murder charges filed

“There was no arrest because there is no case and there is no arrest warrant. His action was purely voluntary,” Rosario said on the phone.

But in Quezon City, Chief Supt. Benjardi Mantele, the head of an investigation task group created to solve the Evangelista-Lozano murders, Sunday said the Dominguez brothers were included in the murder and car robbery cases filed against eight people in connection with the Evangelista slaying.

Dominguez spent Saturday night at the Bulacan police’s Intelligence Investigation Unit under the watch of its head, Supt. Dario Menor, who serves as his custodian.

Evidence and statements linking Dominguez and his brother, Roger, to the murders of Evangelista, Lozano and Lozano’s companion, Ernane Sensil, were being corroborated, said Rosario, who is also deputy director for operations of the Central Luzon police.

The bodies of Evangelista, Lozano and Sensil were burned and found in separate areas in Central Luzon last week within a day of each other.

The van that Lozano was selling on the night he disappeared in Quezon City on Jan. 12 was found burning in Dinalupihan, Bataan, on Jan. 19. It had no plates. Lozano’s and Sensil’s burned bodies were earlier found in Porac, Pampanga, and La Paz, Tarlac, respectively.

Evangelista went missing in Quezon City after allowing two men to test drive his Toyota Land Cruiser on Jan. 13. His charred body was found the next day in Barangay Buliran in Cabanatuan City. His vehicle has yet to be found.

Still a no-show

Dominguez’s lawyer Joey Cruz said Roger Dominguez was also to seek police custody Sunday but as of 2 p.m., the brother had yet to show up at the police headquarters.

Cruz said he was confident that Raymond would be safe at the Bulacan police office. “For sure Raymond is safe in their [custody]. He should thank the police,” Cruz said in a text message.

Searches on two apartments in Greenville subdivision in the City of San Fernando in Pampanga on Friday and Saturday yielded several sets of evidence that, according to police officials, “effectively solve” the Evangelista and Lozano murders and other car theft cases in Central Luzon and Metro Manila.

Earlier, Bulacan jail warden Pepito Plamenco said 15 car theft cases—one twinned with homicide—had previously been filed against Dominguez. He surrendered in mid-November last year but was released in late December after posting bail for his cases.

His brother, police said, had also been linked to several car theft cases in Bulacan.

Villanueva relieved

On Friday, Purisima relieved the police director of Bulacan, Senior Supt. Fernando Villanueva, a former regional director of the Highway Patrol Group.

Purisima declined to say the reason for the relief. Villanueva’s phone was off when the Inquirer called on Sunday.

Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado said Villanueva came to see him on Saturday to bid goodbye. “[Purisima] has not explained to me why [Villanueva] is relieved. There is an internal affairs process so I think it’s best to be asking later,” Sy-Alvarado said.

Mantele, head of the Special Investigation Task Group investigating the Evangelista-Lozano murder cases, said in Quezon City Sunday that the Dominguez brothers were included in the murder and car robbery cases filed on Saturday night against eight people in connection with the Evangelista slaying.

The cases were filed with the Quezon City prosecutor’s office, according to Mantele.

He said he was at the inquest of Alfred Mendiola and Batibut Parulan—two suspected members of the alleged Dominguez-led car gang—when he got the information that Raymond Dominguez had “voluntarily surrendered” to the Bulacan police.

Mantele, who is also director of the Quezon City Police District, said the brothers were implicated by Mendiola, who acted as the gay buyer posing as “Alan Torres” and who lured Evangelista to test drive the Land Cruiser.

Mantele clarified that the murder charges referred only to the killing of Evangelista and did not cover the Lozano-Sensil murders.

Similarities

Asked what could have prompted Dominguez to turn himself in to the Bulacan police, Mantele said: “Maybe because he was from there and he is familiar and comfortable with the area.”

Mantele said that it had not been established if Dominguez’s group was also responsible for the deaths of Lozano and Sensil. “They have similarities, like the bodies were both burned and they were abducted while trying to sell a car,” he said.

Mendiola and Parulan have reportedly confessed they were part of the team that abducted Evangelista.

The two suspects also gave information on the safe houses of the car theft syndicate, where police said they recovered Evangelista’s personal belongings and a half-burnt license.

Mantele said the Quezon City assistant prosecutor had recommended murder and car theft charges against the Dominguez brothers, Mendiola, Parulan and a certain Rolly, Joel, Jason and another John Doe in Saturday’s inquest proceedings.

Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Tonette Orejas & Nancy C. Carvajal, Phil. Daily Inquirer