LUCENA CITY, Philippines – A 70-year old man who is wanted for murder was killed in an alleged shootout with police in Tayabas City on Friday.
Colonel Audie Madrideo, Quezon police chief, said slain suspect Jose Lubrica was also tagged as rank number 5 in the list of wanted criminals in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region and number 1 in the list of wanted felons in Tayabas.
Lubrica, added police, was also a former member of the defunct Philippine Constabulary.
Police report on Saturday said operatives armed with two warrants of arrest swooped down on the house of the suspect in Barangay (village) Alitato around noon.
According to the report, Lubrica is wanted for two separate murder charges lodged in Lucena City courts. He was allegedly behind two murder incidents in Tayabas in 2013 and 2017.
Police said Lubrica, during the serving of the warrants, reportedly drew a caliber .45 pistol and fired at the police twice but missed. Policemen returned fire and killed Lubrica on the spot.