Drug killings resume: 10 in MM, 2 in Bulacan

MANILA, Philippines -  Barely two weeks after President Duterte suspended the police operation Tokhang that has claimed about 7,000 lives, vigilante groups appear to be back at work as the country registered 12 drug-related kills in the past two days.

Police reports showed 10 alleged drug personalities were shot to death in Metro Manila and two more in Bulacan – all by unidentified men on motorcycles – in what appeared to be targeted hits.

Senior Supt. Romeo Caramat, Bulacan police acting provincial director, identified the latest fatalities as Rolando Guerrero, 41, a native of La Union but residing in Barangay Batia in Bocaue town, and a certain alias Ador, a resident of Barangay Partida in Norzagaray town.

In Guerrero’s case, initial investigation showed that two men, reportedly wearing bull caps and face masks, entered his house and shot him several times. Guerrero was hit in different parts of the body.

Responding policemen reported recovering 10 sachets of shabu and four .45 caliber shells.

Ador  was found in Barangay Partida with a gunshot wound in the head at about 4:30 a.m. yesterday. He had tattoos on both arms.

Caramat said the two fatalities were in the barangay council’s drug list. 

In Marikina City, five persons, including a father and son, were killed by armed men on motorcycles.

All of them, according to Chief Supt. Romulo Sapitula, Eastern Police District (EPD) director, were listed either as drug pushers or users in the watchlist in Barangay Malanday.

He identified those killed as Regidor Dumasig Sr., 49; his son Alberto, 25; Noel Dumate, 43; Gerard Taduan, 36; and Ernesto Ambos, 54. They all suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died either at the scene or on the way to the nearest hospital.

Sapitula said Taduan surrendered under Oplan Tokhang while the four others were in the barangay drug list.

Senior Supt. Lorenzo Holanday, Marikina City police chief, was ordered to dig deeper into the case and to identify and charge the suspects.

“We should establish whether a rival drug syndicate is behind the slayings and file charges to give justice to the victims and their families,” Sapitula said.

Investigation showed that Taduan, a construction worker, was standing at the corner of Kabayani and Mississippi streets in Purok 3 when the suspects appeared and shot him several times at about 7:15 p.m. Thursday.

He was declared dead on arrival at the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center (ARMMC).

Five minutes later, Dumate was seen walking at the corner of Kabayani Road and Green St. in Purok 5 when two men on a motorcycle fired at him.

The 49-year-old Dumasig and his son Alberto were inside their home along Kingfisher St. in Purok 6 when unidentified men fired at them.

Ambos was also shot at his home along Kabayani Road in Purok 7 at about 7:30 p.m.

Holanday said he immediately ordered his men to set up checkpoints at all exit points in Barangay Malanday, but they failed to intercept any of the motorcycle-riding suspects.

In Pasig City, 65-year-old tricycle driver Rodolfo Hernandez was shot several times by four motorcycle-riding suspects.

Sapitula said Hernandez was categorized as a pusher in the drug watchlist of Barangay Pineda.

A witness told investigators that Hernandez was driving his tricycle toward West Kapitolyo Drive when he was tailed by four men on two motorcycles at around 10:30 a.m. yesterday.

Near Gerry’s Jeepney restaurant along East Kapitolyo Drive, the back riders fired their guns, prompting Hernandez to stop his vehicle and run for safety.

Although already wounded, Hernandez was pursued by his assailants who shot him several times more.

His son Roldan rushed him to the Rizal Medical Center where he was declared dead on arrival.

Responding Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) recovered three bullet casings and two deformed slugs of an unknown caliber at the crime scene.

Senior Supt. Orlando Yebra Jr., Pasig City police chief, dispatched two teams to investigate the case and go after the suspects.

In Quezon City, unidentified men shot dead Angelito Guidotte, 48, in front of a construction site in Barangay Payatas and Leonel Gubaton, 29, inside his house in Barangay Holy Spirit.

Caloocan and Navotas cities also had one kill each, with the fatalities identified as Mark Anthony Solis, 34, and Jerals Halos, 32.

Initial investigation showed that Solis was sitting on a parked motorcycle in Barangay 176 in Bagong Silang, Caloocan when two men shot him at about 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Halos, on the other hand, was walking at the corner of Bisugo and Alumahan streets in Kaunlaran Village in Navotas when a man shot him at around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Sources at the Northern Police District said investigators are looking at the possibility that the killings are drug-related. – With Rey Galupo, Romina Cabrera