2 cops gunned down in Malabon, Manila

MANILA, Philippines - Two police officers were shot dead in two separate attacks in Malabon and Manila yesterday morning.

At past 5 a.m., Police Officer 1 Felicisimo de Guia Jr., 39, assigned to the Malabon Police Community Precinct 4 in Tugatog, was instructed by his superior officer to coordinate with personnel of PCP 5 in Hulong Duhat regarding a follow-up operation, according to Malabon police investigation head Chief Inspector Reynaldo Medina.

After leaving PCP 5, De Guia chanced upon a group of friends who were chatting along M. Naval street in Barangay Flores and decided to go to a nearby store to buy coffee.

Two men approached the victim from behind, shot him in the head then fled on foot, Medina said. Investigators recovered a cartridge, a spent shell, and a metal fragment from a .45 caliber pistol.

Around four hours later, a policeman who was set to retire next year was killed in Binondo in what investigators described as a “simple” but “rare” attack.

It took a lone gunman 23 seconds to kill Senior Police Officer 4 Antonio Castillo, 55, of the Manila Police District Station 11 at the busy intersection of Tambacan and Ongpin streets at past 9 a.m.

Based on a surveillance video, Castillo was interviewing civilians when a man on a motorcycle, his face covered by a helmet, parked his vehicle nearby. He then walked to the policeman and shot the victim twice in the nape.

Just as the gunman was about to face the surveillance camera, a white truck arrived and blocked the camera’s view.

Investigators said they should track down the truck to determine if its driver had anything to do with the attack.

They said the gunman’s “style” was “rare,” since this type of attack usually involves two men – one to drive the motorcycle and one to shoot the victim.