Slain gunman was son of Quezon mayor, cops say

LUCENA CITY – One of the motorcycle-riding gunmen who was killed in an alleged shootout with policemen in Tayabas City in Quezon province on Thursday was identified by police as the son of the Sariaya town mayor.

In an updated report issued Thursday afternoon, police identified the other alleged gunman as Christian Gayeta, 21, son of Sariaya Mayor Marcelo Gayeta.

The Inquirer tried to contact Gayeta through his personal phone number but the mayor did not pick up calls or answer messages.

Sariaya Vice Mayor Alex Tolentino confirmed that the slain gunman was the son of the local chief executive.

“I knew him as just a simple good boy, most often in short pants. He was trying to start his own ‘lechon’ business, selling jewelry [before the incident],” Tolentino said over the phone.

He said the shooting incident and the consequential killings demand an impartial investigation “in the interest of truth and justice for the victims.”

An earlier report said two motorcycle-riding gunmen later identified as Gayeta and Christopher Manalo opened fire at the attendant of the PTT gasoline station in Barangay (village) Baguio about 4 a.m. Thursday for no apparent reason. The suspects missed their target.

The gasoline workers reported the incident to the police, who immediately responded.

Policemen reportedly engaged the gunmen in a shootout in Barangay Calumpang and killed the assailants on the spot.

Authorities recovered a caliber .45 and a caliber .22 pistols, both loaded, from the gunmen.

Investigators also found two “permit to carry outside of residence” (PTC) cards issued to Manalo, one of which was recovered from Gayeta.

Police Officer 3 Michael Rojas, the case investigator, said they were conducting verification on the licenses of the firearms including the PTCs.

“We’re still conducting further investigations on all angles. Nothing is definite yet,” Rojas said./lzb