Retired cop shot dead in Marikina City

A retired policeman working at Marikina City Hall was shot dead in front of his house by two unidentified men Tuesday morning, allegedly because of the irregularities happening under his watch.

Retired Chief Insp. Renato Sto. Domingo, the officer in charge of the city’s Transportation Management and Enforcement Division (TMED), died from gunshot wounds he sustained on his right cheek and body when the armed men fired at him just as he was about to enter his house at Bantayog Street in Barangay Concepcion Uno at around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Senior Supt. Vincent Calanoga, the Marikina police chief, said the 62-year-old victim had just driven his granddaughter to school when he was shot in his own backyard. He added that Sto. Domingo’s relatives were able to bring him to St. Vincent Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Calanoga said they were looking into the possibility that the attack on Sto. Domingo, an employee of City Hall for the past six years, was work-related. He added that no one from the victim’s neighborhood noticed if the gunmen got away on board a car or a motorcycle.

Sto. Domingo’s office is in charge of regulating the city’s public transportation, ensuring that public utility vehicles comply with city ordinances. Before assuming his position at TMED, he was the assistant head at the Office of Public Safety and Security.

At the crime scene, Calanoga said they recovered two bullet casings from a cal. 45 and a 9mm pistol. They also found a document alleging Sto. Domingo’s wrongdoing, such as extortion, as well as a sketch of his house. The document purportedly from the National Operational Command warned government officials that their group is ready to protect workers and the poor at all times.

In a statement, Marikina Mayor Del de Guzman expressed his condolences to the victim’s family.

“In discharging our duties as public servants, [an] encounter with unhappy clients is inevitable. However, I am confident that our policemen are capable to give justice to what happened to Sto. Domingo,” De Guzman said.