Ermita captain Rupinta ambushed in Liloan

CEBU CITY—Controversial chairman of a village in Cebu City known for its problem on illegal drugs was shot dead by unknown assailants in Sitio Simborio, Barangay Tayud, Liloan town, north Cebu past 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Felicisimo “Imok” Rupinta, village chief of Ermita, was driving an Isuzu D-Max while Jocelyn Mendoza was in the passenger seat when four men on board two motorcycles fired at him.

Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak said Rupinta was hit twice in the head and once in the chest. The village chief died while being attended to at Mendero Medical Center in Liloan, about 21 km away from Cebu City.

Policemen are conducting a hot pursuit operation to arrest the assailants.

Initial reports said that Rupinta was heading to home in a subdivision in Liloan from barangay hall in Ermita when the ambush happened.

Last October, Rupinta led the posting of tarpaulins in homes which he identified as drug-free in Ermita.

The Commission on Human Rights investigated his anti-drug program, prompting him to stop it.

Early this year, Rupinta and all seven councilors of Barangay Ermita were suspended for six months by the Office of the Ombudsman starting last February for failure to cooperate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) during a drug raid in November 2016.

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