Soldier gunned down in Camarines Sur

NAGA CITY – A soldier under Philippine Army’s 9th Infantry Division (9ID) was killed in an ambush in Pamplona town in Camarines Sur province Friday morning, police said.

Private First Class Jhonny Franco, 31, a member of 9ID’s intelligence unit based in Camp Elias Angeles in Pili town, was attacked by three unidentified gunmen at 10:03 a.m. in Zone 1 at Barangay (village) Veneracion, according to the Pamplona police.

Franco crashed and fell into a bamboo fence in a residence nearby after he was shot, police said. The gunmen escaped after the incident.

Recovered from the crime scene were several empty shells suspected to be from an M16 rifle and a slug suspected to be from a caliber .45 pistol.

Investigation was ongoing. STEPHANIE FLORIDA