Superintendent Julius Coyme identified the fatalities as Cedric Lisama, Allan Obana, and Antonio Mc Clintok.
He said the victims have just opened the store located along Sayugan, Barangay (village) Maligaya, Lamitan City in Basilan around 6:30 a.m. when still unidentified number of men on board three motorcycles arrived.
They then shot the three with an M-16 rifle, killing the victims instantly. A companion of one of the victims identified as Nico Able, meanwhile, managed to escape.
The suspects managed to escape after the incident, taking away the roughly P300,000 cash kept inside a drawer, Coyme said.
Further investigation is now being taken for possible arrest of the suspects, he said. Jamie Marie Elona