Ormoc bizman gunned down

ORMOC CITY, Philippines  - A young Chinoy restaurateur and eventologist in this city was gunned down by a still unknown gunman, or gunmen, dawn of Saturday (August 20) inside his own car, in what was believed to be a robbery incident.

The fatality was identified as Kris "Dodong" Dy, 29, owner of Tsinoy's Grill restaurant and catering service and who was also into events planning. His body was found inside the passenger seat of his red pick-up which was parked by the side of the highway at Brgy. San Pablo, this city.

Investigator SPO1 Mark Ruita said a resident, Marcelo Malabat, was the one who reported the incident to the authorities. Malabat noticed the car and the "sleeping" passenger at around 7 a.m..

By around 9 a.m. Malabat got curious when he noticed the car still parked at the area, its engine not running, and the man inside it was still "sleeping." He decided to take a closer look and was stunned to see the man was bloodied. This prompted him to notify the tanods and, while they milled around the car, a police team passed by and was told of what they discovered.

The victim's parents were immediately informed. Cecilia "Ate" Dy, better known as "Ate Buenas" for her store Buenas Shoppers, was distraught of the news. She went to the crime scene but did not go near her son's body, saying she could not stand the pain of seeing her son dead.

Ruita said the victim suffered a lone gunshot wound to his head, just near the left temple. There was no exit wound, thus the gun was fired at close range, he said. An empty bullet shell was also found at the back of the passenger seat, and the police speculated the victim might have been shot from the back and that there might be two to three culprits.

Robbery was initially seen as the motive of the killing. The victim was known to bring around large amounts of cash with him. When his body was found, not a single centavo was recovered but found from his car were a portable hard disk and a camera, among others. He was also wearing his rings but had no watch and necklaces, which he usually wore.

Police have started talking to some people who were last seen with him. One of them was a part time teacher Dexter Manalo, 30, who said the victim dropped him off at his residence around midnight. Accompanying the victim at that time were one Carlito and his girlfriend, a runner-up of the recent Ms Ormoc 2011.

This is the third of a series of killings that happened in the city this week. Last Monday, a dead body was found at the city plaza, in front of the abandoned city government's executive building. He was later identified as Salvador Juba, 28, from Brgy. Ipil, and was reportedly the latest victim of a series of "gang wars" in the area.

Last August 17, Cleofe Requero, 30, cashier of a bakery at Brgy. Doña Feliza, was shot on the head by unidentified hold-uppers after she started shouting for help about a robbery taking place. Taken from the cash register was a mere P500. She was reportedly in critical condition but died Friday morning.  (FREEMAN)