Malabon village chief in drug list gunned down

MANILA, Philippines — A barangay captain tagged by the Philippine Drug Enforcement (PDEA) as a narcopolitician two years ago was shot dead by still unidentified suspects in his own backyard in Malabon on Monday.

Mayor Antolin Oreta III condemned the killing of his ally, Barangay Hulong Duhat captain Anthony “Tune” Velasquez, who was in his residential compound when an assailant fired shots from outside, based on a closed-circuit television footage of the incident.

Four assailants sped away on two motorcycles after the attack.

Velasquez won the 2018 barangay elections despite being tagged in the PDEA drugs watchlist.

Malabon police chief Col. Angela Rejano said the attack on Velasquez was the sixth shooting in the city this year alone.

The city government condemned the “rampant violence and ruthless killings happening in the city.”

“These heinous crimes not only strike fear and anxiety to all Malabonians, but also put Malabon City in a bad light,” city hall said in a statement.

Oreta met with Rejano and Northern Police District (NPD) director Brig. Gen. Eliseo Cruz to seek for justice over the barangay captain’s death as well as to resolve other shootings in the city.

The NPD augmented the Malabon police force with 100 personnel to improve police visibility following the killings, Rejano said.

The police chief appealed to the public to cooperate with the authorities to resolve the city’s shooting incidents.

Nigerian slain in Pasig sting

In Pasig, Nigerian Christopher Chukwuma, suspected of being a member of the West African Drug Syndicate, was killed in an alleged shootout with policemen in Barangay Bagong Ilog on Monday.

Chukwuma reportedly “resisted arrest and… grabbed the issued firearm” of the undercover police officer during a sting in a room at the Mariposa Budget Hotel at around 5:30 p.m., Philippine National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas said.

The suspect’s move “prompted the backup personnel to defend themselves,” he told reporters in a Viber message

Chukwuma died at the scene from gunshot wounds in the body. Policemen found two kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, valued at P13.6 million, in his possession.

Among Chukwuma’s close associates are Nigerians Kingsley Iwumune, who was arrested during a drug bust in Las Piñas City last Nov. 5, and Gabriel Onyechefula, who died in an alleged shootout with lawmen in Concepcion, Tarlac last Dec. 31.

In Parañaque, PDEA agents confiscated around 500 grams of shabu with a street value of P3.4 million from Datu Saysay, who was arrested during a sting at the parking lot of a shopping mall in Barangay San Dionisio at around 3 p.m.

PDEA spokesman Derrick Carreon said Saysay is being held on charges of drug trafficking.