Father of self-confessed drug ring bagman shot dead in Bacolod

BACOLOD CITY — The father of a self-confessed bag man of an illegal drugs ring who linked more than 40 police officers to the drug trade, was shot dead in Purok Sampaguita 2, Barangay Singcang-Airport in Bacolod City, about 9:30 p.m. Monday.

Killed was Wilfredo Serenio, 53, father of Ricky Serenio, a self-proclaimed paymaster of the Berya drug group.

Wilfredo’s killing came a month after his son, Wilmar, 31, was gunned down by still unidentified men.

Gina Serenio, 54, said she believed the gunman who killed her husband was the same person who shot Wilmar to death.

READ: Brother of self-confessed drug ring bagman killed in Bacolod

She said she also believed that her husband and son were killed out of revenge for the revelations made by Ricky.

She added that she feared the killers were out to get her whole family.

Mrs. Serenio asked Senior Supt. Jack Wanky, acting chief of the Bacolod City Police Station,to provide at least two security personnel for her family because they feared for their lives.

She said she was tending to the remains of her husband but her three other children and grandchildren were staying out of sight for security reasons.

She noticed that on Monday night, power was cut off only in the area where her house was located. Because it was hot, residents went out of their houses.

She and her grandchildren walked over to the Munsterific convenience store.

As they were going home, they heard four gunshots fired by a lone gunman. She saw her husband bleeding from gunshot wounds in the chest and shoulder.

One of the bullets hit Wilfredo’s heart, killing him on the spot.

She immediately hid her grandchildren behind a bridge where she also took cover, she said.

At first, she thought the gunman had seen them because the motorcycle stopped near where they were hiding.

She said the driver was wearing a helmet. But his passenger, who was the gunman, did not have a helmet on. She said he was the same man who also killed her son.

The CCTV at Musterific caught the killers as they drove past on the way to her house. But as they were leaving the area, their faces were not so clear on the CCTV, she said.

Asked what her husband’s means of livelihood was, she said he fed chickens.

Chief Supt. Edmund Gonzales, newly-installed chief of the Negros Island Police Regional Office, said that investigators would into all angles, including drugs, that led to the killing of Wilfredo.

Gonzales assured the Serenio family that there would be no whitewash in the probe, in response to allegations that the police might also have been involved in the killing of Wilfredo.

He also assured them of protection.

Ricky had earlier disclosed that the killing of his brother was an act of revenge by those he hurt with his confessions.

“But they cannot scare me,” he stressed. /atm