The US embassy in the Philippines has welcomed the arrest of two men convicted for the fatal stabbing of US Marine George Anikow in 2012.
Galicano Datu III and Cripin dela Paz Chong were arrested in separate operations last week it was announced today (Monday, June 18).
The pair were convicted of homicide, rather than murder, by Makati judge Winlove Dumayas in 2014 over the killing of Major George Anikow and walked free on probation.
As we reported in April this year, Dumayas was dismissed by the Supreme Court over his handling of the case. His decision to downgrade the murder charges against the pair was described as “gross ignorance of the law” by the high court.
In a statement posted on its website today, the embassy wrote: “The US embassy in the Philippines welcomes the arrests of Galicano Datu III on June 12 in Mandaluyong City and Crispin dela Paz on June 14 in Marikina City by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for the violent death of George Anikow on November 24, 2012, bringing some measure of justice to this senseless crime.
“We appreciate the cooperation of Philippine law enforcement authorities in locating and apprehending the perpetrators,” the embassy added.
NBI Director Dante Gierran said Datu and Dela Paz “were charged and convicted for brutally killing US Marine Major George Anikow in Bel-Air subdivision near Rockwell Center, Makati City, on November 24, 2012”.
The NBI said that after he learned that an arrest warrant was issued against him in April, Datu went into hiding.
Dela Paz, on the other hand, “was arrested after a car chase from San Pedro, Laguna, to Marikina City, where he was halted”.
Anikow was stabbed to death in a brawl outside the gates of Bel-Air, an upscale Makati village.
The 41-year-old left behind three children and his wife, Laura, who worked as a diplomat at the US embassy.
Comments are closed.