Dumaguete trader gunned down

DUMAGUETE CITY—A businessman here was gunned down on Thursday by a lone suspect inside the victim’s vehicle, police said.

Demeterio Larena III was shot at close range and took bullets in the head, according to investigators.

Police could not say what the motive was for the killing of Larena, grandson of the late governor of Negros Oriental, Demetrio Larena Sr., and owner of the Rural Bank of Amlan.

Investigators are still trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle in the killing. Here’s their theory.

A man was with Larena in the victim’s Pajero as he drove in Sibulan town, 7 km north of here. Upon reaching Magsaysay Elementary School in Barangay Campacla, another man flagged down the vehicle and was allowed to get in.

Larena, who just celebrated his 65th birthday last Sunday, also owned the Agencia Carmen pawnshop that has several branches here and in Negros Oriental. He was also president of the Rotary Club of Dumaguete.

Bystanders were quoted as saying they heard gunshots as Larena’s Pajero skidded to a stop in front of a retail store in Sibulan.

The gunfire alerted two policemen—PO3 Crisanto Garet Jr. and a PO1 Fabres—who were in a bus passing by. The policemen got out of the bus and opened fire at an unidentified man who was opening a door of Larena’s Pajero. Another man inside the Pajero exchanged fire with the policemen.

People outside the store where Larena’s Pajero skidded to a stop ducked for cover. “Not one of us could see what’s happening,” said one store customer who asked that he not be identified.

The suspects fled aboard a motorcycle they commandeered from one Rene Daig. Police later found the motorcycle abandoned in Valencia town.