Police said Manuel Zachary Escudero, 19, of Malate, was declared dead on arrival at the St. Claire Hospital for a gunshot wound in the chest.
The victim, a freshman information technology student, is a distant cousin of the opposition lawmaker.
Chief Inspector Dominador Arevalo Jr., chief of the Manila Police District’s homicide section, said the victim was walking to school at the Information and Communications Technology Academy at 7 a.m. when the incident took place.
The school is located near the victim’s home.
Police said the victim was using his cellular phone, a Nokia 3100, when a motorcycle carrying two men blocked his path at the corner of Arellano and Vito Cruz streets in Malate.
One of the suspects grabbed the victim’s phone, but the six-foot-two Escudero, a jujitsu expert, resisted and put up a fight, prompting one of the suspects to shoot him.
After taking the victim’s cell phone, the suspects sped off.
Officer-on-case SPO1 Richard Lumbad said Escudero was also victimized by robbers last year.
Police have in custody two witnesses who provided a sketch of the gunman, described as between 40 and 45 years old, medium built and at least five-foot-four in height.
Witnesses failed to describe the other suspect since he was wearing a motorcycle helmet.
In Muntinlupa City, one of two robbery suspects was killed in a shootout with policemen last Wednesday night.
Police Officer 2 Joven de la Cruz, officer-on-case, said a police team engaged the suspects following a complaint from a victim of a robbery in Barangay Sucat.
Rodolfo Ledda, 42, sought police assistance after he was held up while waiting for a ride at the corner of Posadas Avenue and the East Service Road.
He said the suspects took his bag, wallet and cellular phone.
Police Inspector Macario Mailon, deputy chief of Police Community Precinct 3, dispatched a team to pursue the suspects who had boarded a jeepney after the incident.
When the police team caught up with them, one of the suspects opened fire, resulting in a shootout.
One suspect was killed while the other escaped.
Police recovered a caliber .22 pistol and the bag belonging to the victim. — With Rhodina Villanueva