CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Pampanga police chief Senior Supt. Oscar Albayalde appealed yesterday for public vigilance against motorcycle-riding hired killers charging for as low as P15,000 per victim, following a recent series of unsolved killings in this province.
Just last Monday, Liberal Party (LP) member Lorenzo Viray, 46, secretary of Masantol Mayor Dan Guinto, was shot dead by two suspects on a motorcycle in Barangay Bebe Anac in their town at about 6 p.m.
Viray was on his way home on a motorcycle when one of the suspects on the passenger back seat of their overtaking motorcycle shot him in the head.
Guinto said that as of yesterday, police probers had yet to name any suspect, although some witnesses had been cooperating with them for a sketch of the culprits.
In an interview, Albayalde noted the series of recent killings perpetrated by motorcycle-riding suspects in Pampanga.
“We are looking into the possibility that some of the recent killings were executed by gun-for-hire groups.
This is why we need the vigilance of our citizenry to report suspicious persons in their neighborhood because members of such groups are elusive and move from one place to another,” he noted.
Albayalde also cited intelligence reports that gun-for-hire groups in Pampanga charge as low as P15,000 per victim, although the price can go up to as much as P50,000. “It really depends on the relationship between the hirer and the hired,” he noted.
Motorcycle-riding suspects have been noted in the recent killings in this province in July alone. In the first week, provincial jail guard Christman Allan Lapus was shot dead in broad daylight by such suspects at a gas station in Barangay San Antonio in Mexico town.
Last July 2, local businessmen Manuel Vendiola, 62, of Saint Jude Village and Charlie Tolentino, 57, proprietor of Taxco Carwash, in the same village in the City of San Fernando were also shot dead by two motorcycle-riding suspects along Lazatin Boulevard in Barangay Dolores in the city.
Two weeks ago, Australian businessman Timothy John Wright, 52, owner of a condominium along Fields Avenue in Angeles City, was critically injured after he was fired at several times also by men on motorcycle in Barangay Manibaug, Porac. He was driving his black Chevy sedan on his way home from a party in the area when waylaid.
Two days later, motorcycle-riding tandem also shot dead a 21-year old mother and injured her six-year-old son in Barangay Tabun in Mabalacat City.
“Some of the cases seem to have had personal motives, but we are looking also into the possible involvement of gun-for-hire groups. We are monitoring a group that seems to operate mostly in Nueva Ecija, although some other groups seem to operate in Pampanga,” Albayalde said.
In appealing for public vigilance, Albayalde noted that gun-for-hire groups usually establish temporary base in areas where people would not likely notice them.
“This is the reason why we are asking the public to be vigilant against strangers in the community and inform the police in case they notice anything suspicious,” he said.
Albayalde noted that such killers use motorcycles which provide them better mobility in carrying out their mission as well as in fleeing.
“While we tend to zero in on motorcycles at check points, it is easy for criminals to evade us. At night, the plate marks of motorcycles are not readily visible, plus the drivers are supposed to wear helmets and that helps hide their identities,” he lamented.
He met yesterday with his field commanders to tackle the issue, as he stressed the need for “intelligence build-up” against killers for hire.
