Davao death squad claims another victim?

DAVAO CITY — There seems to be no end to the spate of summary executions here as another victim was gunned down in broad daylight Monday morning along busy MacArthur Highway.

Ireneo Daguman, 40, reportedly a fish dealer, was inside his parked Nissan Safari, along with his wife, when two unidentified men shot him dead. The gunmen then casually walked away from the scene.

The bodies of four other victims were found in different areas in the city last week, giving rise to suspicions that the dreaded "Davao Death Squad" has struck again.

The four victims were alleged to be drug pushers, one of them a former convict. The anti-narcotics unit, however, said Daguman was not in its "order of battle" although he was reported to have dealings with criminal elements.

A few years ago, the death squad was linked to a series of killings of suspected drug pushers and financiers and other notorious criminal elements in this city.

Even councilor and hard-hitting broadcaster Juan "Jun" Pala blamed the recent ambush on him and his two companions on supposed new members of the death squad.

Dominador Calamba II, Region 11 director of the Commission on Human Rights, urged authorities to exert more efforts in putting a stop to the killings. — Edith Regalado