Metrobriefs

Vegetable vendor shot dead in Manila

A 47-year-old vendor was shot dead while he was buying vegetables at Divisoria in Tondo, Manila, before dawn Thursday, the police said. Case investigator PO2 Bernardo Cayabyab of the Manila Police District homicide section said that Johnwill Quinto died on the spot due to two gunshot wounds to the back of the head. He was buying vegetables to sell at the San Andres Market with his live-in partner, Lilybeth Palomo, when he was killed. “She told me that they were buying produce separately at the time. She said she only saw Quinto lying on the ground after hearing gunshots. She could not think of anyone who would want him dead,” Cayabyab said. He added that although there were several witnesses, none of them was willing to talk. Quinto’s remains have been turned over to a funeral home for autopsy. Karen Boncocan, Inquirer.net

UP employee found dead on school campus

An employee of the University of the Philippines (UP) was found dead with a gunshot wound in the head. Case investigator PO2 Alvin Quisumbing said they have not yet ruled out foul play in the death of Moises Amelito Pancho, 34, a laboratory assistant at the College of Engineering, whose body was discovered behind the Bahay ng Alumni building on the UP campus in Diliman, Quezon City, on Wednesday evening. Beside him was an improvised pen gun. Initial investigation showed that the victim may have killed himself over a tiff with his wife. Julie M. Aurelio

Caloocan donates P1M to ‘Sendong’ victims

Caloocan Mayor and League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) Chair Enrico “Recom” Echiverri has announced that he would donate P1 million for the victims of Tropical Storm “Sendong” in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City. “Each city will receive P500,000. I enjoin my fellow mayors in LCP to live by the meaning of Christmas by providing financial assistance to the victims of Sendong. Hopefully, through this we will be able to impart the true spirit of unity to our countrymen,” Echiverri said. The death toll due to the devastation wrought by Sendong is expected to top 1,000 on top of millions of pesos worth of damage to property and infrastructure.