QC gov’t man shot dead in road argument

An officer of the Quezon City government’s Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) was shot dead in his vehicle after a heated argument with a group of men early morning Saturday in Quezon City.

Michael Martinez, 52, was killed in his green Toyota Corona by one of the men in a white Tamaraw FX van that he apparently chased around 1:20 a.m. along E. Rodriguez Avenue near the corner of Judge Jimenez Street in Barangay Kristong Hari, police said.

Footage recovered by investigators from a closed-circuit television camera in the area showed that Martinez earlier tailed the van and managed to block its path near a gasoline station.

A shouting match followed between him and the men in the van, said Insp. Elmer Monsalve, chief of the Quezon City Police District’s homicide section, quoting witnesses.

The van had about eight persons inside and one of them drew a pistol and shot Martinez twice, hitting him on the chin. The group then drove off toward Cubao, Monsalve said.

The motive for the killing remained unclear as the fight may have stemmed from an earlier traffic altercation and not related to Martinez’s work at City Hall, the officer added.

Martinez was a resident of Barangay Pinagkaisahan, Quezon City, and a licensing officer of the BPLO.