‘Carinderia’ owner tagged in drug watchlist gunned down in Laguna

SAN PEDRO CITY — A female store owner was shot dead by a gunman, who pretended to be a customer at her “carinderia” (canteen), in order to get closer to the victim.

The victim was identified as Erminda Arevalo Amante, 65, a resident of Barangay (village) San Juan in San Pablo City, Laguna.

A report from the Laguna police said the gunman pretended to buy from Amante’s store before shooting the woman twice. The gunman then escaped on a motorcycle driven by another suspect.

Amante was included in the city police’s watchlist for illegal drugs, the police said.

The police did not say whether she was related to the family of incumbent city mayor Loreto Amante, but a source said she was formerly married to an uncle of the mayor.

Mayor Amante was among the local officials the National Police Commission recently stripped of the control over their local police force due to their alleged ties to the illegal narcotics.

The mayor’s camp has denied the allegation. /je