BULLET shells recovered from the house of slain broadcaster Juan “Johnny Walker” Jumalon match with the gun used by a suspect in the killing of an engineer last month, leading to speculations that the hit men in both slayings in Calamba, Misamis Occidental, could be a member of the group that shot the radioman.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Public Affairs Office chief Col. Jean Fajardo said Sunday that the suspect in the killing of the municipal engineer was arrested in an anti-drug operation in Barangay Don Bernardo Neri in Calamba town last Tuesday.

But Fajardo did not disclose the identity of the suspect to allow the investigation into Jumalon’s assassination run its full course.

Fajardo said the arrested suspect served as a lookout when two men barged into Jumalon’s house while the victim was broadcasting via Facebook.

Meanwhile, Fajardo discounted the possibility that the reason for the murder of Jumalon was jobrelated, as probers are pursuing a land dispute as the primary motive.

Jumalon was shot dead by an assassin at close range inside his residential booth while broadcasting live as seen in closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

In the video, the gunman can be seen grabbing Jumalon’s necklace after shooting him.

Murder and theft charges have been filed before the Misamis Occidental Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against a suspect allegedly behind the killing of the broadcaster.

However, the suspect’s identity was withheld. “The name of the suspect may not be disclosed at this time pending the conduct of a case buildup,” Fajardo said.

Two “John Does” were included in the charge sheet as investigators gather more pieces of evidence for the case buildup.

“We are also being careful in mentioning the name of the identified suspect as he might escape since there is an ongoing manhunt against him,” Fajardo said.