Gunmen kill 2 bus passengers on SLEx

Police are baffled by the murders of two men who were shot in the head as  they were traveling on a passenger bus along the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) in Muntinlupa City on Friday.

The gunmen posed as passengers and shot Wenceslao Malabanan, 55, a tricycle driver of Talisay, Batangas province and Marcelo Mendoza, a 50-year-old gardener of the same town.

The bus, which was bound for Manila from Batangas, was on the northbound lane of SLEx when the gunmen fired the shots without a word. No valuables were taken from the victims, police said.

Senior Supt. Roque de la Vega, Muntinlupa police chief, said the driver pulled over after hearing the shots.

As soon as the bus stopped, the suspects got off and fled on foot.

De la Vega said the other passengers, who may have seen the incident, immediately disembarked and disappeared, leaving them with no eyewitness accounts.

Police questioned the bus conductor about the incident for clues, but he told them he only heard two gunshots coming from the rear side of the bus, and then saw the gunmen fleeing.

Responding policemen chased the suspects who ran towards a public cemetery in Barangay Putatan, but lost track of them later.

De la Vega said the police have sought the help of the victims’ relatives in Batangas and are in contact with the local police to find out what could have been the motive for the killings.