Joint operatives of the Batac City Police Station, led by Police Lieutenant Edwin Portugal and supervised by Police Lt. Colonel Adrian Gayuchan, along with the Abra Police Provincial Office, represented by Police Major Melenium Bantas, were able to apprehend Nathan Mata, a 51-year-old construction worker who was allegedly fleeing from a murder he committed over 30 years ago.
The arrest took place on Saturday, 1 July, after the execution of a warrant of arrest issued on 30 June 2023, by Presiding Judge Felix G. Salvador of the Regional Trial Court, First Judicial Region, Branch 17, Batac City, Ilocos Norte, with no recommended bail.
According to Gayuchan, the murder victim was Israel Lagmay, the brother of a municipal councilor in 1989, and the alleged murder took place the same year near the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center. The suspect had previously been arrested for possession of illegal drugs in 2011 in Barangay Nalupta, Batac, but no formal charges had been filed against him for the crime of murder.
During the promulgation of the case, Mata fled to Batac City and then went to Abra. An informant was able to identify Mata in Tayum, Abra, and reported him to the police, which led to his arrest.