PHILIP JAMES TREMEDAL
Online news contributor
PAGADIAN CITY--The New Year celebration came and went by with a short list of injuries sustained from pyrotechnics and firecrackers.
But aside from this, the city police also recorded deaths from various causes, S/Insp. Parsons Jujani Asadil said.
“We were monitoring incidents related to the mishandling of firecrackers while making the celebration free from untoward occurrence,” he said.
The police chief added that while firecracker-related incidences were minimal, killings fill their blotter.
January 2, a teenager identified as Wilfredo Ortiz Jr. was found dead outside the Joguilon Surplus Store in Purok Bagong Silang, Balangasan with a gunshot wound in his head.
Police said the victim was sitting on the bench at the lobby of the said store when suddenly an unidentified killer shot the victim at close range with a 9mm caliber then walked away.
The next day, an unknown assailant armed with a .45 caliber pistol shot a certain Jerry Deran while parking his passenger van at the premises of the Integrated Bus Terminal.
The victim died along the way to the hospital.
Several witnesses said they saw the victim talking to the killer minutes before the incident. They then described the killer to be 5’5” in height, wearing a black jacket and a maong pants and a white bull cap.
They added that an accomplice riding a motorcycle was waiting at a distance and both sped away towards BF Arao Avenue after the shooting.
Asadil assured media he will investigate the killings.
In other news, a decomposing body full of stab wounds was found in Purok Mauswagun, Brgy. Bolatok, the other day.
Police identified the dead body to be that of Noel Polmentera, a resident of Purok B-3 Tiguma and believed to be a salvage victim.