Youth leader shot dead in Laguna
MANILA, Philippines — A youth leader was shot dead inside his own home in Lumban, Laguna on Tuesday.
Authorities said the victim, Sangguniang Kabataan ng Lumban president Renzo Matienzo, was shot several times inside his bedroom by an unknown assailant in Barangay Maytalang Uno, late afternoon on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old victim sustained 10 gunshot wounds and died on-the-spot.
According to witnesses, the suspect was wearing a bonnet and a mask then fled to an unknown direction.
A hot pursuit operation is currently being conducted for the identification and arrest of the fleeing suspect, Lumban police said.
Meanwhile, The Sangguniang Kabataan ng Siniloan condemned the murder of Matienzo.
“Mariing kinondena ang nasabing akto ng Sangguniang Kabataan ng Siniloan at nanawagan ng hustisya para sa karumal-dumal na krimen, sampu ng iba pang kaso ng extra-judicial killings sa lalawigan ng Laguna,” the group said on a Facebook post.
(The Sangguniang Kabataan ng Siniloan strongly condemns the said act and is calling for justice for the heinous crime, which is among ten other cases of extrajudicial killings in Laguna province.)
Less than three weeks before this, a union leader was also gunned down in Canlubang, Calamba City, Laguna on March 29.
On the same day, a 19-year-old was reportedly shot dead by a police officer in Calamba after a heated argument.
On March 7, police forces conducted a series of raids where at least nine activists were killed and six others were arrested in simultaneous operations across the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) region.
