BY RUBY SILUBRICO
ILOILO City – In broad day light, two unidentified motorcycle-riding assassins shot to death a man in Barangay Sambag, Jaro district yesterday.
The 45-year-old painter Jerome Emboltura of Barangay Jalandoni Wilson, City Proper was crossing the national highway with his brother when attacked.
According to witnesses, the motorcycle’s back rider alighted from the vehicle and repeatedly shot Jerome, a drug surrender.
His brother was left unharmed.
It was the clear that Jerome was the target, according to Police Captain Jose Mark Gesulga, Jaro police chief.
The Embolturas were working for the Asuki construction company.
Recovered from the crime scene were nine spent bullet shells of a .45-caliber pistol.
As of this writing, police investigators were still trying to identify the suspects.
Jerome was the third person killed by motorcycle-riding shooters here in a month.
Just this Dec. 15, Elizer Galon, 31, of Barangay Tanza Esperanza, City Proper was killed in Barangay M.V. Hechanova, Jaro.
On Dec. 13, Edrano Umadhay, 54, was gunned down in Barangay Tabuc Suba, Jaro.
These three were all former drug personalities. Their assassins shared similar descriptions – all wearing black jackets, clad in masks and helmets and riding on black motorcycles.
“We are investigating if the suspects in three killings belonged to a group,” Gesulga said.
In light of the incident, Colonel Eric Dampal, city police chief, instructed his motorcycle policemen to maximize police presence in the metro.
Earlier, Police Brigadier General Rolando Miranda, Western Visayas police director, proposed to strengthen the Motorized Anti-Street Crime Operating teams against motorcycle-riding criminals.
From January to November 2020, a total of 90 crimes were committed by motorcycle-riding suspects, data from the Police Regional Office 6 showed.
Of the 90 cases, 43 were murder, 20 were physical injuries, 15 were robbery cases, seven were theft cases, three were rape, and two are “motornapping”./PN
