NAGUILIAN, ISABELA—A 36-year-old policeman was shot dead by two gunmen in an ambush here as the victim was driving home on board his motorcycle Saturday morning (Sept. 30).
PO3 Christopher John Duarte, an investigator of the Santo Tomas town, was trailing behind another motorcycle-riding policeman, PO3 Dante Maramag, when he was attacked by men wielding an M-16 assault rifle and a Cal.-45 handgun in Barangay Palattao at 9:40 a.m., police said.
The gunmen were apparently waiting for Duarte in a black Toyota Innova vehicle, which they also used to escape the crime scene, according to Senior Insp. Francisco Dayag, Naguilian town police chief.
Duarte was on an official leave-of-absence to take a Junior Leadership Course at the Philippine National Police Regional Training Center when the incident happened. He was on his way home after attending an inspection ceremony at the training center, Dayag said.
Scene-of-the-crime operatives found six empty shells of an M-16 rifle and six spent bullets from a handgun.
The police are looking into Duarte’s former assignment as a police intelligence officer of Ilagan City for leads to help crack the case and track down his assailants. /jpv