A shooting incident that occurred in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City, shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday, August 2, led to the death of a 67-year-old man. | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A 67-year-old man was shot dead, reportedly due to a drug-related conflict, in Sitio Naba, Alaska, Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City early on Friday morning, August 2.
The victim, identified as Victor Agillon, was married and a resident of the barangay. He had allegedly been recently released from the Cebu City Jail after being convicted on a drug charge.
At around 3:48 a.m., personnel from the Mambaling Police Station received a call about the alleged shooting incident in the area. The police report stated that the gunman allegedly shot Agillon in the chest and other parts of his body, resulting in his instantaneous death.
In an interview with CDN Digital, the victim’s older sister said that three persons were sleeping inside the house at the time of the incident.
At around 3 a.m., a man allegedly came to the house and called for Agillon, asking to buy illegal drugs. The sister confessed that some individuals in the area sometimes made the victim buy illegal drugs, but she added that he was not a drug pusher.
When the victim declined, saying that he did not sell drugs, the individual reportedly walked away, and the victim went back to sleep. A few minutes later, however, the individual came back, and the residents heard four loud gunshots. Agillon’s companions inside the house during the incident were unharmed.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, Deputy Director for Operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said that the victim was released from the Cebu City Jail recently. She added that the motive behind the shooting incident is related to illegal drugs.
Rafter also disclosed that the police have already identified the suspect behind the fatal shooting and are now conducting a hot-pursuit operation.
Before this incident, another shooting occurred at around 2:30 a.m. in Sitio Daclan, Barangay Tejero, Cebu City.
Ramie Jim Gabato Villacruz, alias “Longlong,” also an ex-convict, was found dead in an interior portion of the barangay after being shot by an assailant due to a personal grudge. Villacruz died on the spot from multiple gunshot wounds in different parts of his body.
With the consecutive occurrence of shooting incidents in Cebu City recently, Rafter assured the public that they should not be alarmed. She disclosed that most of the shooting incidents recorded in Cebu City shared a common denominator: illegal drugs. She said that only up to two percent of incidents were found to be unrelated to drugs.
The targets of gunmen are usually individuals they are acquainted with because of illegal drugs. This shows that the shooting incidents are not done randomly, according to Rafter.
Furthermore, law enforcers in Cebu City are working nonstop to apprehend and file charges against criminal entities as directed by Police Colonel Antonietto y Cañete, acting city director of CCPO.
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