‘Killers of Erice aide professionals’

The two men involved in Tuesday’s killing of an aide of Caloocan Vice Mayor Edgar Erice may be hired professional killers, according to a police official.

Senior Superintendent Wilson Amper, deputy district director for

operations of the Northern Police District (NPD), told the Inquirer that the men responsible for the death of Samuel Delana, 38, appeared to be trained killers because they struck in broad daylight and did not even bother to hide their faces.

Delana was doing community work at Phase 5, Bagong Silang, Barangay 176 when one of two men on a motorcycle approached him and shot him repeatedly.

The gunman and his companion then sped away.

Delana sustained gunshot wounds in the face and chest and was declared dead on arrival at Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital.

On the other hand, his companion, Nelda (earlier identified by the vice mayor as Hilda) Dioquino, was wounded in the left shoulder.

“The suspects weren’t even wearing anything to cover their faces when they committed the crime,” Amper, also head of Special Task Force Delana, told the Inquirer.

Amper added that the gunman even used a silencer, which is common among professional killers.

At press time, the two men have yet to be identified.

Police, however, said that they would soon release computer-generated images of Delana’s attackers based on descriptions provided by a witness.

“The CIDG [Criminal Investigation and Detection Group] has already asked the witness to go to Camp Crame [for that],” the NPD official said.

While the police have not dismissed other possible motives for the killing, Amper said they were concentrating on the political angle.

Delana had no known enemies so there was a possibility that the killing was politically motivated, Amper said.