Police identify car used in Dueñas shooting that killed woman

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Investigators have identified the vehicle used in a shooting in Dueñas, Iloilo, that killed one woman and wounded two others on March 23, the Iloilo Police Provincial Office confirmed.

Col. Bayani Razalan, Iloilo police chief, said CCTV footage captured a red sedan and its license plate as it passed through an area in the province.

“But it’s still subject for verifications and investigation on the identity owner or user of the said vehicle,” he said.

Razalan hinted at a possible motive but declined to elaborate.

Capt. Francis Layog, Dueñas police chief, said investigators have obtained an affidavit from Wilbert, one of the two survivors who sustained gunshot wounds.

“He apparently had a knowledge that someone was after him,” Layog said.

A statement from the eldest daughter of the slain woman, alias Marigold, 49, of Zone 3, Barangay Tacas, Jaro, Iloilo City, was also secured, though Layog declined to discuss the contents of either statement.

Marigold was killed and Wilbert wounded when a gunman opened fire at them around noon on March 23 along Poblacion A, Dueñas. A bystander, alias Blondie, 42, also of Poblacion A, was struck by a stray bullet in the right leg.

The group — Marigold, Wilbert, and a companion identified as Gerry — had been traveling from Passi City aboard a Ford Ranger Wildtrak pickup truck, bound for Iloilo City. They were forced to stop along the roadside after the engine overheated.

While Wilbert worked on the vehicle, Marigold waited under an Indian mango tree, using her phone. Gerry had stepped away to fetch water from a nearby house.

A red sedan then stopped in front of a nearby auto shop. The gunman opened fire using an M16 rifle before speeding off toward Iloilo City.

Marigold sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was believed to have died at the scene. Wilbert was hit in the upper right back. Gerry escaped physically unharmed.