Police Lieutenant Colonel Maria Theresa Macatangay, deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO). | CDN Photo/ Emmariel Ares (FILE PHOTO)
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City police have identified a person of interest (POI), with possible links to a shooting incident that killed a 45-year-old man in Brgy. Poblacion Pardo, Cebu City on Tuesday afternoon, March 18.
Police said the shooting was drug-related.
The deceased was identified as Rudgie Dela Peña, 45, from Brgy. Tungkop in Minglanilla town, southern Cebu.
At past 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dela Peña was reportedly sitting in front of a shanty located along Sabellano Street in Brgy. Poblacion, Pardo when he was shot by two still unidentified assailants.
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The victim sustained several gunshot wounds on his body which caused his immediate death.
Macatangay said the victim had a previous criminal record related to illegal drugs.
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Person of Interest
During the follow-up investigation, police were able to identify a person of interest behind the fatal shooting.
“Naa na tay POI ani. And karon padayon lang ang pag-gather nato og pieces of evidence nga matumbok nato nga kaning POI is the person really who committed the crime,” stated Macatangay.
(We already have a POI. For now, we continue to gather pieces of evidence to prove that the person was the one who committed the crime.)
As of this writing, police continue to look for closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to gather more clues that would aid in their ongoing investigation.
Peace and Order
The incident, according to Macatangay, is isolated and will not affect the peace and order in the city.
“If we look at the data nato karon sa Cebu City, ang atoang trend sa crime is nagkunhod. And no matter how people might counter it but the statistics really show that our crime incidents dropped compared to the same period last year. So kani nga mga hitabo ron nga shooting incidents I can say these are really isolated sa punto nga ga-revolve lang ani nga mga individuals engaged sa illegal drugs nga mga transactions,” she said.
(If we look at our data in Cebu City, the crime trend in the city is declining. And no matter how people might counter it but the statistics really show that our crime incidents dropped compared to the same period last year. So with this shooting incident, we can say that this is an isolated case revolving around individuals involved in illegal drug transactions.)