Santa rosa: After nearly three decades of evading law enforcement, a long-time fugitive wanted for multiple murders, including the killing of a police officer, was apprehended in Santa Rosa, Nueva Ecija, on Sunday afternoon.

According to Philippines News Agency, the suspect, known by the aliases 'Pandong' and 'Ed,' aged 57, was arrested at approximately 1:30 p.m. in Barangay Mapalad. The arrest was carried out by a collaborative tracker team comprising the Regional Special Operations Group 3, Santa Rosa Municipal Police Station, and Nueva Ecija Provincial Police Office.

The authorities served several non-bailable warrants of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court of Cabanatuan City, which included charges of murder and frustrated murder.

The suspect, a former member of the notorious gun-for-hire and robbery syndicate known as the Atacador Group, had been a fugitive since the late 1990s. He was implicated in the killing of then-PO1 Ronald Diamat and the injury of then-SPO2 Samuel Bulan during a 2000 operation in Santa Rosa.

Additionally, investigators have connected him to the murder of a security guard in Cabanatuan City in the late 1990s.

Brig. Gen. Ponce Rogelio Pe±ones Jr., chief of Police Regional Office-Central Luzon, remarked that the arrest is a testament to the effectiveness of coordinated intelligence efforts in bringing even the most elusive fugitives to justice. "Justice may be delayed, but it will never be denied," he stated.