Five young men were shot dead by motorcycle-riding men who cornered them on a bridge between the cities of Pasay and Makati before dawn Wednesday, an incident that took place just meters away from a police station.
Investigators immediately linked the killings to the illegal drug trade, a claim contested by the victims’ kin who described the five as decent young men with a happy-go-lucky attitude.
The police identified the fatalities as Chucky Dee Cruz, 22; Francisco Cruz, 20; Raymart Cruz Saraza; Andrew Lloyd Cruz, 23; and Rogelio Diala, 22.
Chucky Dee and Francisco were siblings while the three were their cousins. All five had been friends since childhood.
According to a police report, the victims were walking home at 2:30 a.m. from a videoke bar in Makati when they passed by the Arnaiz Cermentina Dolores Bridge which serves as a link between Pasay and Makati.
As they were in the middle of the bridge, a man on a motorcycle appeared at its foot while two other men, also on a motorcycle, showed up at the other end.
Victims ‘sandwiched’ on bridge
The motorcycle riders who were wearing helmets then opened fire on the victims, the sound of gunshot attracting the attention of lawmen at a nearby police station.
“Four policemen rushed to the scene in a matter of seconds but they found the gunmen gone and five bullet-riddled bodies on the ground,” said Senior Inspector Glenn Gonzales, Makati police substation 4 precinct commander.
The victims were brought to Pasay City General Hospital where attending physicians pronounced them dead on arrival.
Witnesses, on the other hand, said the gunmen sped off toward Arnaiz Avenue in Pasay City. Found at the crime scene were 18 slugs from a caliber 40 pistol.
Senior Superintendent Manuel Lukban, Makati police chief, said it would be difficult to determine the identity of the shooters since according to witnesses, they were all wearing motorcycle helmets.
Investigators, however, were hopeful that other witnesses would emerge and help them identify the shooters.
Lukban said that based on the initial investigation conducted by the Makati and Pasay police, the five victims were earlier profiled for their suspected involvement in the illegal drugs trade in Pasay.
“If that is the case, the killing may be due to a case of onsehan (double-cross),” Lukban added.
Kin finds police statements offensive
One of the victims’ mother, Elizabeth, mother of Raymart Cruz Saraza, said the police’s statements about the victims were offensive to her and the families of the other young men.
“It’s so painful to hear such things. We know our children. All they wanted was to go to parties, drink and have tattoos on their bodies. That’s all,” she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
She said the five held honest-paying jobs. “They were tricycle drivers. One of them, Andrew Lloyd, was working as a tattoo artist and running a sari-sari [retail] store at the same time,” she said as she added that the five were close friends.
“Why did the police do nothing to stop the murders when it happened near the police station?” Elizabeth asked.
She noted that the place where the massacre happened was a crime-prone area since it was always dark there at night.
National Capital Regional Police Office chief Director Leonardo Espina, meanwhile, has ordered a full investigation of the shooting.
“Do not rest, solve this case with resoluteness,” he said in a statement addressed to the police chiefs of Makati and Pasay.