Valenzuela government worker shot dead

MANILA, Philippines - Four men who claimed to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA) gunned down a Valenzuela City Hall employee Wednesday afternoon.

Leonardo Santiago, 29, who worked for the city pound, was in a tricycle driven by Dennis Pancho when the four suspects flagged them down along De Castro Drive in Barangay Paso de Blas at around 3:30 p.m.

The gunmen reportedly introduced themselves as NPA members and told the driver and his other passengers to get off the tricycle.

Two of the suspects then shot Santiago at close range in the face and head.

The gunmen left Santiago’s body along the road with a letter that read in Filipino: "Liberate the underprivileged, penalize the abusers.”– Jerry Botial, Pete Laude