Another Manila policeman slain; 7th this year

A Manila policeman was shot dead by men aboard a sports utility vehicle before dawn Saturday in Paco, less than 24 hours after one of his comrades was killed in Pasay City.

PO1 Manuel Garcia, 43, who was detailed at the Manila Police District’s Smokey Mountain detachment in Tondo, was gunned down while on his motorcycle at around 4 p.m. at the corner of Pedro Gil and Purisima streets.

He was rushing home after doing the nightshift to attend to his cancer-stricken wife, according to a superior.

He was the seventh MPD member to be killed this year. Five of the slain policemen, including Garcia, were killed while off-duty.

MPD homicide section chief Senior Insp. Joselito Ocampo said Garcia was shot several times by men who fired from inside a black Ford Everest that had no license plates.

The ambush in Paco followed Friday morning’s killing of PO2 Jesus Lapuz, a member of the MPD Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU).

MPD-TEU head Supt. Reynaldo Nava said Lapuz was escorting a convoy of tourist buses at around 10 a.m. when he suddenly veered from the designated route to chase another motorcycle rider who committed a traffic violation.

When he caught up with the offender in front of the Japanese Embassy on Roxas Boulevard, Pasay, another motorcycle-riding man approached and shot him with a 9-mm pistol. Lapuz died before reaching the hospital.

Ocampo said his men were looking into a possible link between Garcia’s killing and that of PO2 Rommel Coquia, also of the Smokey Mountain detachment, who was ambushed on May 17.

Armed men shot and killed Coquia and lawyer Lisandro Sanchez who had just attended a court hearing in Malolos City in connection with an extortion case filed against the officer.

Based on the records of the MPD homicide section, four other Manila policemen were killed this year.

These were PO1 Ramuel Dela Cruz, who was killed by the robbery suspect he was pursuing on Feb. 25; PO1 Anthony dela Cruz, who was gunned down on May 19 in Malate; PO2 Reynaldo Olivo Jr., who was killed on June 21 after taking his son to school in Tondo; and SPO2 Teofilo Panlilio, whose bullet-riddled body was found on June 26 near the border of Manila and Navotas City.