Person of interest eyed in San Enrique shooting

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Police investigators have identified a person of interest in the killing of a drug personality in San Enrique, Iloilo.

Lt. Christy Val Dalde, San Enrique police chief, said the suspect acted as the gunman.

She said the gunman may have had a cohort who drove their getaway motorcycle.

Dalde did not elaborate further but hinted the suspect is from Passi City.

She said it is also possible that the gunman has not yet fled the area.

Police said illegal drugs remain the most plausible motive given the victim’s prior conviction for an illegal drug offense.

The victim, a 35-year-old known as alias Ervin, was driving his motorcycle on his way home to Barangay Agtabo, Passi City, when he was shot dead in the early evening of Sept. 29.

He was repeatedly shot while navigating a poorly lit area along Barangay Abaca, San Enrique.

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

Dalde said the nearest house was far from the crime scene.

“There was no CCTV cameras in the vicinity,” he said.

Dalde said they are reviewing CCTV footage from other areas where the suspect could have passed.

Police said a sachet of suspected shabu was found in Ervin’s possession at the time of his death.

In police usage, a “person of interest” is someone investigators believe may have information or involvement in a crime but who has not been arrested or charged.