Lapid to TIEZA pal: Surrender your son in bank teller’s slay

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga — Sen.LitoLapid Thursday called on his friend at the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Authority, Fidel Arcenas Sr., to cooperate with authorities hunting his son who has been tagged by police as the principal suspect in the murder of a bank teller in Manila.

Arcenas is the son of Arcenas Sr., a former chief of staff of Lapid when he was governor of Pampanga.

Making no secret of his connection to Arcenas, Lapid told a media briefing here that he is encouraging Arcenas to surrender his son, Fidel Sheldon, who is suspected of murdering his estranged wife, Tania Camille Dee-Arcenas, whose body was exhumed last weekin the backyard of his current girlfriend’s house in this city.

Lapid made the appeal following a statement from Angeles City Mayor Ed Pamintuan associating the Lapids to the elder Arcenas who served as provincial director when he was Pampanga governor, and now works as assistant COO at the TIEZA under his son, Mark.

The senator, who had earlier expressed his intention of running for mayor here, urged the Pamintuan camp not to use the unfortunate incident as a political issue against him.

This, as murder charges are being readied against Fidel Arcenas Jr. for the murder of bank teller Tania Camille Dee, who was reported missing on June 20.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Eden Ugale said probers have gathered enough evidence against the younger Arcenas.

He added a special investigation  task group was formed to probe the case.

Dee’s relatives posted on Facebook that she was last seen with Arcenas and his girlfriend, identified as Angela

Dychioco, in a restaurant here on the night of June 20.

The management of the restaurant has turned over to the police video footage taken by surveillance cameras installed in the area.

The victim’s body was found buried at the back of a house in Sta. Maria Subdivision in Barangay Balibago here.

The house is reportedly owned by Dychioco’s mother, who told the police that her daughter and the suspect borrowed the key and returned it on June 21.

Investigators will submit the evidence to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for the filing of a murder complaint against Arcenas, who reportedly had gone into hiding.

Authorities have yet to determine whether Dychioco would be implicated in the case.

Dee, who was staying with her parents in Manila, went to Angeles last June 20 to meet with Arcenas, who allegedly promised to give her a car.

Investigators said Dee was shot in the head.

Her body was found with her head wrapped in a towel and plastic. – Ding Cervantes and RicSapnu