Ex-convict drug suspect shot dead in San Enrique

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A man previously convicted of an illegal drug offense was shot dead on the evening of September 29 in San Enrique, Iloilo.

Alias Ervin, 35, was driving his motorcycle home to Barangay Agtabo, Passi City when the incident occurred.

As he passed through a poorly lit area in Barangay Abaca, San Enrique, he was repeatedly shot.

Lt. Christy Val Dalde, San Enrique police chief, said the victim sustained one gunshot wound to the left side of his head and two to his left shoulder.

Police said the victim had visited his mother in Barangay Abaca, a neighboring village of Agtabo, and was carrying packed food for his family.

Dalde said they are not ruling out the possibility that the assailants tailed him, waited at the scene, and shot him as he passed.

Investigators are also considering that there may have been two suspects riding a motorcycle.

Given the victim’s prior conviction, Dalde said they are looking at illegal drugs as one of the possible motives.

A sachet of suspected shabu was recovered from Ervin’s possession at the time of his death.

Dalde said they will coordinate with the Passi City police to check whether the victim had resumed involvement in illegal drugs.

Police records show Ervin was arrested in 2020 by the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit (RPDEU) 6 in an anti-drug operation in Iloilo City.

He was released from prison in 2023 after availing himself of a plea bargaining agreement.