Pasay businessman killed in hail of gunfire

MANILA, Philippines—Motorcycle-riding men peppered an L-300 van with bullets in Pasay City early Friday, killing a businessman and injuring two companions asleep inside the vehicle.

Police said Efren Albao, a councilor of Barangay 137 in Pasay City, was awakened by the gunshots fired at him by three men on a motorcycle.

SPO1 Jenomar Geraldino said from the driver seat, Albao scrambled to hide in the rear of the van, but the bullets fired by the gunmen still found their mark. The other two men with Albao inside the van, Raniel Escleto and Edegario Albao, were shot in the chest and in the head.

Albao was taken to the San Juan De Dios Hospital but was declared dead on arrival. His companions remained under observation.

The shooting happened on Galvez Street opposite the Department of Education’s Pasay City Special Education Center around 4 a.m. while the three were asleep inside the L-300 van. They were killing time before a scheduled delivery of dressed chickens to the public market, Geraldino said.

Police said Albao had a stall in the public market and had been engaged in the chicken business in Pasay City.

“He was really the target. The other two were only collateral damage,” Geraldino said.

The slain businessman’s body bore at least five gunshot wounds, he said.

Witnesses said the gunmen opened fire without a word and fled immediately.

Geraldino said the police still had no clue as to who would want the barangay councilor dead since members of his family believed the man had no known enemies.