Man gunned down in neighbor’s wake

A man went to his neighbor’s wake to have a bit of fun with a petty gambling game with his friends, but little did he know that the next wake in their barangay would be his after a riding-in-tandem gunned him down yesterday afternoon.

Police identified the victim as Oliver Plagata, 32, of 172-4 West Bank Road, Barangay Maybunga, Pasig City.

According to SPO1 Hermel Vergara, investigator-on-case, Plagata was playing a game of cara y cruz during the wake of his neighbor at around 3:30 p.m. when two masked gunmen onboard a motorcycle sped past the mourners and shot the victim seven times in different parts of the body, killing him on the spot.

Witnesses said suspects fled towards Barangay Rosario after the shooting.

Village watchmen said Plagata had consistently been the subject of various complaints of residents for his alleged misdemeanor, Vergara said.

Plagata also had standing cases of theft and illegal gambling, Vergara added.

Initial investigation also showed that Plagata is included in the station’s drug watch list under the user/pusher category.

Vergara said that Simon Plagata, the victim’s half-brother, admitted that his sibling’s drug use is known to their family, but he said that they were unaware of how long his brother had been using illegal drugs. He also denied that his brother was a pusher, Vergara added.

Recovered from the scene were seven cartridge cases and three bullet slugs.

Plagata’s body was immediately brought to a nearby funeral parlor after his family declined police autopsy. Police investigation is ongoing.