Cop slain, councilman hurt in gun attack

MANILA, Philippines — A police officer died while a kagawad or barangay councilman was wounded after they were shot by four men on two motorcycles in Manila on Saturday night.

Senior Police Officer 1 Teodorico Arabe Jr., 50, assigned with the Manila Police District (MPD) traffic enforcement unit, died while being treated at the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center.

Gimiliano Ajon, 50, councilman of Barangay 358, was declared in critical condition at the University of Santo Tomas Hospital.

Arabe and Ajon were standing in front of a bakery at the corner of Yuseco and Tomas Mapua streets when the motorcycle-riding assailants opened fire at around 10:30 p.m., according to MPD homicide investigator Senior Police Officer 4 Milbert Balinggan.

Witnesses told police that the gunmen got off the motorcycles to ensure that Arabe was dead before fleeing toward Rizal Avenue.

Probers said they were eyeing revenge as a possible motive for the attack.

Police said Arabe had earned the ire of some pedicab drivers in the area whom he apprehended several weeks ago.

The policeman was previously assigned with the MPD Station 1 anti-illegal drugs division before he was transferred to the traffic enforcement unit.