PDEA agent shot dead in Cagayan ahead of trial

TUGUEGARAO CITY—An agent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding gunmen on Monday (October 2) while he was driving a motorcycle with a back rider in Pengue Ruyu village here, police said.

PDEA agent Mark Anthony Ventura died from several gunshot wounds to the head and torso, while his passenger, Jonathan Juan, was wounded and now being treated at a hospital also in the city for bullet wounds, said Tuguegarao City police chief Supt. Edward Guzman.

Ventura was supposed to testify as s witness in a drug case lodged before the Regional Trial Court in Bayombong town in Nueva Vizcaya on Tuesday (Oct. 3) prior to the shooting. /jpv