Authorities have identified the suspect in the killing of 89-year-old journalist Juan Dayang inside his home in Kalibo, Aklan on April 29.

In a press conference on Thursday, May 8, Maj. Frensy Andrade, chief of the Kalibo Municipal Police Station, disclosed that the suspect, identified as Kim Wency Antonio, a resident of Balugo, Valencia, Negros Occidental, had rented a hotel room and motorcycle in Kalibo before the killing.

Police were able to trace his movements through backtracking operations.

Antonio used his real name and presented valid IDs during his stay, which helped investigators piece together his activities.

Authorities discovered he had a prior drug-related case under Republic Act (RA) 9165 in Pasig City in 2021.

“We dug up. He has a previous case on RA 9165, somewhere in Pasig, if I’m not mistaken, in 2021,” Andrade said.

During the same press conference, Brig. Gen. Jack Wanky, director of the Police Regional Office 6 (Western Visayas), said Antonio had been in Kalibo as early as April 3, conducting surveillance using a rented motorcycle.

The suspect used a different motorcycle during the shooting, Wanky said.

He said they already had the identity of the suspect as early as April 30 but decided to withhold the details so as not to preempt their operations.

Unfortunately, he said they found that he left Western Visayas on May 2 via the Iloilo International Airport.

“We have coordinated with our counterparts in Metro Manila, who are also helping us track this suspect. With this development, we are now filing the case,” Wanky said, adding that police strongly suspect Antonio is a hired gunman and that a mastermind is behind the assassination.

They have released the information to seek public support that may lead to the arrest of the suspect.

Aklan Governor Jose Enrique Miraflores and Kalibo Mayor Juris Sucro also announced during the press conference that they are offering PHP500,000 in reward money for any information about the suspect.

Dayang, 89, was shot while watching television inside his residence in Barangay Andagao, Kalibo.

He served as OIC-mayor of Kalibo from March 1986 to Jan. 1987.

He was chairman emeritus of the Publishers Association of the Philippines and founder of the Aklan Press Club.PNA