ILOILO CITY—Two men were killed in separate attacks here on Sunday (Jan. 19) that sent a chilling message for their brazenness and the impunity with which they were committed.
The two victims were killed in gangland-style executions as the city put in place tighter security for the coming weeklong celebration of Dinagyang Festival, the city and province’s most famous feast.
One of the victim, Allan Muller, was gunned down near his home on a street at the village of Cuartero in Jaro District shortly around noon by suspects on board a Mitsubishi Adventure.
Muller was rushed to the Western Visayas Medical Center where he was declared dead on arrival.
A few minutes later, assailants aboard an unidentified van also gunned down Delfin Britanico, who was driving a motorcycle at the village of Nabitasan in La Paz district.
Col. Martin Defensor Jr., Iloilo police chief, said there was no indication that the two attacks were related.
“It was just a coincidence,” Defensor said.
Investigators were determining if the killing of Muller was related to drugs because his younger brother, Mark, was gunned down by motorcycle-riding gunmen in August last year.
Mark was said to be among hundreds of people who surrendered as drug suspects during the enforcement of one of the components of the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign, Oplan Tokhang, a play on Visayan words that meant knock and plead.
Defensor said police were also determining the motive for Britanico’s killing.
Britanico had operated a business and had called a relative minutes before the shooting that he was being tailed by several men.
“We received reports that there was an argument before the gunmen shot the victim,” he said.
Iloilo City is celebrating the Dinagyang Festival this week which will peak on Sunday (Jan. 25) with hundreds of thousands of revelers and guests expected to pack the main streets of the city.
Edited by TSB