ANGELES CITY – Life in Central Luzon costs a mere P20,000, snuffed out with a down payment of only P1,000.
This was the revelation of members of a gun-for-hire group after they were pinned down by the police in a shootout recently in Barangay Mabini in Llanera, Nueva Ecija following their attempt to carry out another killing mission.
In a report to Central Luzon police director Chief Supt. Arturo Cacdac, Nueva Ecija police chief Senior Supt. Ricardo Marquez said the suspects Dennis Vilelia, 30, married and a vendor residing in Barangay Puting Tubing in Gapan, and Rafael Merez, 25, single and jobless resident of Barangay San Juan in Aliaga, both in Nueva Ecija, were members of a gun-for-hire group.,
During questioning by the police, Vilelia and Merez admitted they were hired by one Renato Merez to kill Bernardo Martin, 51, a sales agent of Pepsi Cola Philippines and a resident of Barangay San Ricardo in Talavera, Nueva Ecija.
The suspects, riding in tandem on a Euro motorcycle with plate No. 5331-CU, shot but failed to kill Martin in Barangay Mabini in Llanera. The alerted Llanera police, led by SPO2 Edilberto Cruz, and soldiers from the Army’s 81st infantry battalion immediately pursued the suspects who engaged the cops in a firefight.
The suspects were arrested after Merez sustained a gunshot wound in his arm.
The suspects said that the mastermind who hired them to kill Martin provided them with the .45 calibre pistol with three loaded magazines and the motorcycle. They also received from him a downpayment of P1,000, under the arrangement that another P20,000 would be given them once they accomplish their mission.
The amount is reportedly the going rate of professional killers in the region, police sources said.
The suspects, however, did not disclose further arrangements in case their target survived, as in the case of Martin who was reported to be recuperating at Premiere Hospital in Cabanatuan City.
Marquez, in his report to Cacdac, cited the suspects as claiming they were hired to kill Martin whom the mastermind claimed to be having an affair with his wife.
Marquez said that the two suspects had also been involved in other gun-for-hire cases. He cited in particularly Vilelia who was identified as suspect in the shooting of one Rene Bernalte, 30, in Barangay San Ricardo in Talavera on Dec. 8 last year.
But Vileila seems to be a poor hire, as Bernalte also survived his attack to pursue the case against him. Vileila had had remained at large until his recent capture.
In Angeles City, police authorities had blamed members of gun-for-hire groups, reportedly all based in Nueva Ecija, for killings that also victimized foreigners in the city. Such groups in the province reportedly operate in various parts of Central Luzon.
A former police chief of the city had confirmed that P20,000 as the going rate of professional killers in the region.
This was the revelation of members of a gun-for-hire group after they were pinned down by the police in a shootout recently in Barangay Mabini in Llanera, Nueva Ecija following their attempt to carry out another killing mission.
In a report to Central Luzon police director Chief Supt. Arturo Cacdac, Nueva Ecija police chief Senior Supt. Ricardo Marquez said the suspects Dennis Vilelia, 30, married and a vendor residing in Barangay Puting Tubing in Gapan, and Rafael Merez, 25, single and jobless resident of Barangay San Juan in Aliaga, both in Nueva Ecija, were members of a gun-for-hire group.,
During questioning by the police, Vilelia and Merez admitted they were hired by one Renato Merez to kill Bernardo Martin, 51, a sales agent of Pepsi Cola Philippines and a resident of Barangay San Ricardo in Talavera, Nueva Ecija.
The suspects, riding in tandem on a Euro motorcycle with plate No. 5331-CU, shot but failed to kill Martin in Barangay Mabini in Llanera. The alerted Llanera police, led by SPO2 Edilberto Cruz, and soldiers from the Army’s 81st infantry battalion immediately pursued the suspects who engaged the cops in a firefight.
The suspects were arrested after Merez sustained a gunshot wound in his arm.
The suspects said that the mastermind who hired them to kill Martin provided them with the .45 calibre pistol with three loaded magazines and the motorcycle. They also received from him a downpayment of P1,000, under the arrangement that another P20,000 would be given them once they accomplish their mission.
The amount is reportedly the going rate of professional killers in the region, police sources said.
The suspects, however, did not disclose further arrangements in case their target survived, as in the case of Martin who was reported to be recuperating at Premiere Hospital in Cabanatuan City.
Marquez, in his report to Cacdac, cited the suspects as claiming they were hired to kill Martin whom the mastermind claimed to be having an affair with his wife.
Marquez said that the two suspects had also been involved in other gun-for-hire cases. He cited in particularly Vilelia who was identified as suspect in the shooting of one Rene Bernalte, 30, in Barangay San Ricardo in Talavera on Dec. 8 last year.
But Vileila seems to be a poor hire, as Bernalte also survived his attack to pursue the case against him. Vileila had had remained at large until his recent capture.
In Angeles City, police authorities had blamed members of gun-for-hire groups, reportedly all based in Nueva Ecija, for killings that also victimized foreigners in the city. Such groups in the province reportedly operate in various parts of Central Luzon.
A former police chief of the city had confirmed that P20,000 as the going rate of professional killers in the region.
