QUEZON City Police District (QCPD) policemen arrested a motorcycle-riding man accused of killing Land Transportation official Mercedita Gutierrez hours after the victim was killed, Philippine National Police spokesperson, Colonel Jean S. Fajardo said on Monday.

According to the official, operatives of the QCPD headed by Brigadier General Redrico A. Maranan arrested the suspect identified as alias Danny.

He was positively identified by four witnesses as the man who gunned down Gutierrez.

The breakthrough in the killing came after the QCPD Special Investigation Task Group Gutierrez recovered a photocopy of the Official Receipt and Certificate of Registration of the motorcycle used as a getaway vehicle by the suspect and his cohort last May 24.

The accused is now under the custody of the QCPD which is doing a case build up with the help of the QC Prosecutor’s Office in compliance to Department of Justice Circular No. 20 which pertains to the need for the police and prosecutors to help each other build a case against any suspect that will stand up in court.

The motorcycle registration papers were reported to be inside a belt bag which was accidentally dropped by the suspects as he and his accomplice fled in haste shortly after the daring attack.

She said that the QCPD SITG Gutierrez used the recovered registration papers to trace the original owner of the motorbike who claimed that the vehicle was already in the possession of his son.

When questioned, the 2nd owner said he already sold the motorbike to another person, who turned out to be the accused gunman.

The suspect who was arrested somewhere in Batasan, Q.C. is yet to give any statement to the SITG Gutierrez, Col. Fajardo said.

The QCPD refused to give more details regarding the case as it also cited the need to ensure the safety and security of the witnesses.

However, she said that Brig. Gen. Maranan has expressed confidence that they have arrested the real killer.

“As of the motive, the SITG Gutierrez is still digging further to know what triggered the killing of the LTO official.

They are looking into the possibility it could be connected to her job or possibly, a personal grude,” Col. Fajardo said.

“As of now, the QCPD is continuously coordinating with the family of the victim.

Members of the Gutierrez family have asked investigators to give them some time to grieve before talking.

Pero kahit papaano, nabunutan sila ng konting tinik after learning that there is already an arrested suspect,” she said.

The SITG Gutierrez is also checking the background of the suspected gunman as of press time.

“They are looking if he is a member of a gun-for-hire ring and if the killing arose from an old grudge,” Col. Fajardo said.

Gutierrez, the chief of the Registration Section of the LTO Central Office, was driving her van when gunned down near the corner of K-H St. near Kamias Road in Brgy. Pinyahan Friday night.

She was seriously wounded and taken to the East Avenue Medical Center where an attending physician declared her dead upon arrival.

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II called the killing of Gutierrez “a cowardly act.”