Dueñas shooting raps to target 3 suspects

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The Dueñas Municipal Police Station is set to file criminal charges against three individuals in connection with the March 23 shooting that killed a woman and injured two others.

Col. Bayani Razalan, Iloilo police chief, said charges of murder and frustrated murder, and possibly frustrated homicide, will be filed against the alleged gunman and two unidentified companions.

Razalan said Wilbert, one of the two injured victims, identified the gunman as the person seated in the back passenger seat of a red sedan.

He said the driver and front-seat passenger of the car remained unidentified as of this writing.

Razalan said Wilbert apparently knew who carried out the attack but initially kept silent because he feared the suspect.

“But he kept his silence knowing that the suspect is not someone to be mess with. Maliban d’yan, may atraso din kasi s’ya,” Razalan said.

Police said Wilbert had been accepting auto repair jobs.

He allegedly collected money from several clients to buy spare parts.

However, police said he failed to deliver the parts after allegedly using the money for his sick wife.

Razalan said the gunman could be one of Wilbert’s clients.

He added that the suspect is allegedly from Iloilo province and had been linked to armed robbery and gun-for-hire activities in Iloilo and Capiz.

Based on the investigation, police believe Wilbert was the target of the attack that killed alias Marigold, 49, of Zone 3, Barangay Tacas, Jaro, Iloilo City, and injured Blondie, 42, of Poblacion A, Dueñas.

Police said Marigold died at the scene after the gunman opened fire.

Investigators said Marigold, Wilbert and Gerry were aboard a Ford Ranger Wildtrak pickup traveling from Passi City.

They were on their way to Iloilo City but stopped along the roadside in Poblacion A, Dueñas, after the vehicle developed mechanical trouble due to an overheating engine.

While Wilbert was fixing the vehicle, Marigold stayed under an Indian mango tree and used her phone.

It was then that a red sedan stopped in front of an auto shop and a gunman opened fire using an M16 rifle.

The suspects then sped off toward Iloilo City, police said.

Marigold sustained gunshot wounds to different parts of her body.

Wilbert suffered a gunshot wound to his upper right back.

Blondie, meanwhile, was hit by a stray bullet in her right leg.

Gerry escaped the attack unharmed.

Police said he was getting a pail of water from a nearby house when the suspects fired at the vehicle and his companions.