GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Police are looking into various angles in solving the separate shooting incidents here on Friday night that killed two persons, including a former village official in Tupi town in South Cotabato province, and wounded one.
Col. Gilberto Tuzon, city police director, identified the fatalities as former Barangay Kablon, Tupi councilor Enrico Pangulo Guerrero, 50, and his brother Ramenesis, 43, both residents of the same municipality.
He said the two just came out of a restaurant along Laurel Street in Barangay Dadiangas North at about 6:30 p.m. when they were waylaid by unidentified gunmen riding in tandem on a motorcycle.
Tuzon said the victims reportedly had dinner at Harry’s Kitchenette along with some friends and were already preparing to go home when the incident happened.
The victims died on the spot due to multiple gunshot wounds from a .45 caliber handgun, based on the spent shells recovered at the scene.
“We are looking at all possible angles and our investigators are exhausting all resources to solve this incident,” he told reporters.
Mayor Ronnel Rivera, who rushed to the scene, said he ordered the city police to dig deeper into the case, as well as identify and arrest their assailants.
Rivera said investigators were still filtering some information but were already pursuing some leads and possible motives, among them personal grudges and illegal drugs.
He said one of the victims was reportedly implicated in the illegal drug trade and had been working to clear his name in the past two years. He did not give other details.
Another angle was their supposed involvement in a murder case in their village and other personal circumstances, he said.
“It is possible that the suspects had trailed the victims from Tupi and executed their plan here,” Rivera said.
Meanwhile, in Barangay San Isidro, a motorcycle rider opened fire at two persons past 7 p.m. at the corner of Nunez Street and NLSA Road.
Tuzon said one of the alleged targets, identified as Jonard Barlizo, 43, sustained a gunshot wound on his left leg and was undergoing treatment at the Socsargen County Hospital here, while the latter’s companion was unharmed.
He said Barlizo, a coordinator of the controversial MERS Business Center here, was able to identify the alleged shooter who was subsequently arrested.
The suspect's identity was withheld pending the ongoing investigation and follow-up operations.
“We’re close to solving this case and the motive appears related to the victim’s work,” Tuzon said.
MERS has been operating an investment scheme here and in neighboring areas that has been flagged as illegal by the Securities and Exchange Commission. (PNA)
