Shooting mars ‘Simbang Gabi’ in Marikina

The Marikina police assured residents yesterday that it was doing its best to guarantee their safety and security for the duration of the “Simbang Gabi” even as two criminal incidents were recorded before dawn, one of them involving a churchgoer.

Insp. Edwin Malabanan, public information chief of the Marikina police, told the Inquirer that at least 300 lawmen were currently deployed all over the city for the holidays.

“We have deployed our policemen [in] areas in the city where a lot of people would gather, like churches and malls. To deter crimes, we have increased police visibility by assigning foot and mobile patrols [to] each of the 16 barangays in the city,” Malabanan said.

Despite the stepped-up police presence, however, a man was shot dead around 3 a.m. near Tumana Bridge in Barangay Tumana.

The still unidentified victim who had a rosary and “Ramel Jan” tattooed on his chest and back, respectively, had a single gunshot wound in the back of his head.

His body was found by a teenager and his friends who told investigators they heard a gun go off while they were on their way home from church. The police said they were still trying to determine the victim’s identity.

The second incident involved 20-year-old Mark Anthony Cambe who was stabbed around 5:30 a.m., a few blocks away from the Our Lady of the Abandoned Church in Barangay San Roque.

Malabanan said Cambe and his friend had just heard Mass and were walking home when the suspect, Jeilo Santos, suddenly stabbed Cambe in the left arm and escaped.

He added that Cambe may have earned the ire of the suspect after Santos found the victim “too cocky.” Malabanan said that Cambe’s friend, John Paulo Barredo, knew the suspect personally.

Cambe was taken to Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center where he was treated.

Malabanan said that police presence, particularly foot patrols, would be increased in the areas where the crimes were reported to prevent these from happening again.

At the same time, he reminded the public to be more vigilant, especially during this time of the year, when crimes usually spike. He urged them to take part in the city police’s program “Bantay Lahat Lahat, Bantay Kulturang Laban sa Krimen,” launched in August which seeks to involve them in crime-fighting efforts.