Killing of quarantine volunteer probed

The police are investigating the killing of a 38-year-old male volunteer by four gunmen on motorcycles while he was manning a quarantine checkpoint in Barangay Bagong Silangan, Quezon City, on Wednesday night. According to a report from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), Ronald Cumayas was with fellow volunteer Aldredo Batino at the checkpoint on Eagle Street in Sitio Veterans around 10:30 p.m., when four masked men on two motorcycles fired at them. Cumayas was hit several times and died on the spot. Batino, who tried to escape, was hit by a bullet on the right arm. He was rushed by barangay officials to East Avenue Medical Center for medical attention. But Police Brig. Gen. Ronnie Montejo, QCPD director, later claimed the volunteers were not manning a police checkpoint but one that had been set up by the barangay to check the entry and exit of people and vehicles in the area in line with the enhanced community quarantine. —Mariejo S. Ramos