3 in taxi franchise business shot dead

MANILA, Philippines - Three persons said to be engaged in the buy-and-sell of taxicabs and franchises were shot by a man who was also in the car driven by one of the victims in Quezon City on Wednesday morning.

Aguido Roquita, who was driving the Toyota Vios; Rosie Sumbeling, who was in the front passenger seat; and Maria Irma Bautista, who was on the backseat, all died after being shot in the head, said Chief Inspector Rodel Marcelo, head of the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU).

Marcelo said Roquita and Bautista were shot in the right temple while Sumbeling was shot in the nape.

“It appears the gunman was inside the car,” Marcelo said, specifically referring to the backseat, beside Bautista.

Marcelo said the spent shells of the .45 caliber pistol used by the assailant were all found inside the car.

Superintendent Norberto Babagay, commander of the QCPD-CIDU, said the incident happened along Nawasa Road in Barangay Sauyo at past 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

Marcelo said the assailant escaped when the Vios hit the gates of one of the houses in the area.

Inspector Elmer Monsalve, head of the QCPD-CIDU’s homicide investigation section, said they had yet to determine the motive behind the killing.