Newsbriefs

NUEVA ECIJA

Village exec slain

A village councilor was killed by one of three men on a motorcycle inside his junk shop in Barangay (village) General Ricarte in Llanera town, on Sunday, police said.

Witnesses said the three men drove up to the shop of Nick Apan, 42, shortly before 6 a.m. One of the men pretended to be a customer and then shot the councilor in the head with a .45 cal. pistol, they said.

Apan died before reaching the Premiere General Hospital here. Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon

BALAGTAS, BULACAN

Barangay captain slain

A village chair, who served in the campaign of reelected Mayor Romeo Castro, was shot dead in front of his house here on Monday, police said.

Ernesto Ventura, 55, barangay captain of Barangay Santol, was hit four times by a gunman at 8:10 a.m.

He tried to grab his attacker, who fired more shots until the victim lay prone on the ground, police said. Chief Insp. Voltaire Rivera, Balagtas police chief, said two barangay watchers, Ariel de la Cruz and Rommel Mendoza, tried to hit the gunman with shovels but were warned away.

The gunman fled on a motorcycle with an accomplice. They were followed by another motorcycle rider, who may have acted as a lookout, police said. Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL

3 guards held for robbery

Three security guards were jailed for their alleged involvement in a robbery at the Kabankalan City public market on Friday.

Supt. Calixto Mabugat, Kabankalan City police chief, said Jaime Linas, Rene Estremera and Octavio Gascon, all members of the E and R Security Agency, who had been hired by the city government to guard the public market, were arrested in connection with a robbery at the Marasigan Store located at the new market.

A closed circuit television camera recording showed that the suspects were taking P40,000 worth of dry goods from a tenant with a stall at the city’s public market.

Their companion, Anatacio Dojoles, remained at-large.

Some of the stolen items were recovered from the suspects, Mabugat said. Carla Gomez, Inquirer Visayas

GENERAL SANTOS CITY

Cops probe 3 killings

Police are investigating three killings on Sunday here.

John Paul Silva, 41, a resident of Sarmiento Compound, Durian Street in Barangay Dadiangas North here was the first victim. A police report said an unidentified suspect entered the Sarmiento compound around 11 a.m. pretending to be looking for a room for rent.

Silva accompanied the stranger, but a few minutes later people inside the compound heard several gunshots. When they came out to check, they saw the victim sprawling on a pool of his own blood. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but died from several bullet wounds.

An hour later, Dennis Abbas, head guard of Rivas Security Agency, and a resident of Buayan village, was shoot in Barangay Tambler. Abbas was visiting a friend in Sitio Biu when an unidentified man shot him several times. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.

Around 6 p.m., a gunman shot Romeo Zamora Jr. while the latter was standing near his residence in purok Tinago, Barangay Dadiangas South.  The suspect fled on a motorcycle. Aquiles Z. Zonio, Inquirer Mindanao