Victim no. 176: Man shot dead, vigilantes eyed

Another man was killed in a vigilante-style execution ironically along Justice Street, Peace Valley, barangay Lahug, Cebu City, around 11 a.m. yesterday during a heavy downpour.

The unidentified man, who became the 176th victim of vigilante-style killings, was estimated to be about 20 to 30 years old, of small build, wearing dark denim short pants and a yellow t-shirt. He was found with two gunshots to the left side of the body.

Homicide investigators led by SPO3 Zenaido Pastorfide had difficulty finding witnesses since the area was an isolated part of the street with vacant lots on both sides of the road. The nearest house from the crime scene was a hundred meters away.

Ranel Rosal, 25, a habal-habal driver told The Freeman that he saw the victim struggling and trying to get up already bloodied, but for fear of his life he did not stop and continued to bring his passenger to their destination in Oprra, barangay Kalunasan.

When he came back for the victim, policemen from Cebu Provincial Police Office, whose camp is located near the place, already cordoned off the area.

Rosal said prior to discovery of the victim along the road, he encountered several speeding motorcycles coming from the said place going up to Sudlon but could not say if they were the involved in the incident.

Nobody from the area knew the victim, leading police to believe that he was not from the said place and was just brought there to be shot dead.

Scene of the Crime Operations found two empty shells and a slug of a .45 cal. near the body of the victim.

Police said the victim had tattoos in his right arm that read: "Baan Beboy" and "Kirs." No other ID was found on the body.

According to Balitang Bisdak, the victim might have been a certain "Jun Pislat", a notorious snatcher in the pier area.

The vigilante-style killings started last December 22, 2004 targeting mostly ex-convicts who frequently go in and out of jail for various offenses. Most of them were involved in robberies, theft and drugs.

The Homicide Section admitted failure in filing charges against those responsible because of the difficulty in finding reliable witnesses. - Edwin Ian Melecio