Ex-cop on Duterte’s drug list shot dead in Cebu

AFP FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A retired policeman, who was reportedly on the drug list of President Rodrigo Duterte, was shot dead Wednesday morning by his close friend inside his house in Barangay Vito, Minglanilla town, southern Cebu.

SPO1 Ronilo Nabua suffered a gunshot wound in the head and was declared dead on arrival at the Cebu South General Hospital in nearby Naga City, Cebu.

PO3 Alfredo Pagaling, of the Minglanilla police station, said an initial report showed that Nabua had just walked into his living room when a certain “Rebak” shot him with a .45-caliber pistol.

The assailant also shot Dario Cellote, who was repairing Nabua’s vehicle.

Cellote was rushed to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, where he was undergoing treatment.

Pagaling said Rebak, who was described as a close friend of Nabua, had been staying at the former policeman’s house for a month.

“We have yet to determine what prompted the suspect to kill SPO2 Nabua,” Pagaling said.

Nabua joined the police force in 1986 and availed of optional retirement on Dec. 31, 2008. He was among the police officers identified by Duterte as a drug coddler, investigators said. CBB