‘Joey de Leon’ gunned down in Bataan

BALANGA CITY – A namesake of popular TV host and comedian Joey de Leon was gunned down by two ski mask-wearing men while playing tong-its (Pinoy-style poker) in a friend’s house in Pilar, Bataan Wednesday night, police said.

Senior Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan, Bataan police director, said De Leon, 47, a former provincial jail guard, died on the spot from bullet wounds in the head, chest and hand.

De Leon’s attackers, who arrived on board two Kawasaki motorcycles, shot him with caliber .45 automatic pistols without uttering a word in his friend’s house in Barangay Balut Dos, Pilar town.

No one among the victim’s friends was hurt as they rushed out of the house when the first shots were fired. Police found four empty shells and two slugs at the scene.

De Leon’s family had no idea why he was killed, as he and other family members had not gotten any death threats, police said.   – Raffy Viray