Gunman, target both from Cagayan

A “barangay captain” from Cagayan province was shot in Manila Sunday morning while the shooter, who came from the same province, was killed by police as he fled the crime scene on foot.

Roldan de Asis, 45, of Centro North West, Solana, Cagayan, was rushed to Jose Reyes Medical Center after being shot in the torso around 11 a.m. in front of Isetann department store at the corner of Evangelista Street and Recto Avenue. He was identified only by an ID that described him as “Association of Barangay Captains president.”

The gunman, Jose Buendia, 52, who hailed from Bacolod, Alcala town, also in Cagayan, was shot dead by Police Officer 1 Jervey Aguilar, a rookie policeman stationed on Recto who responded to the victim’s cry for help.

Investigators have yet to establish the motive, but earlier news reports pointed to one Roldan de Asis as a suspect in a shooting incident over local politics in May 2010 in Barangay (village) Bangag, Solana, Cagayan. The reports also linked him to the shooting of a Cagayan policeman in April 2010.

Following tips from bystanders, Aguilar was able to catch up with Buendia as the latter “tried to be casual” as he walked toward Rizal Avenue after the shooting, the police officer said in his report. Police recovered the revolver Buendia used in the shooting.—Jaymee T. Gamil