Village chief, 6 other drug suspects killed

Another barangay chairman and six other drug suspects were killed in shooting incidents on Tuesday.

Charlie Macapuno, 37, chairman of Barangay Poblacion 1 in Laurel, Batangas, reportedly shot it out with anti-drug operatives during a sting at around 10:37 p.m. He was declared dead on arrival at the St. Andrew’s Hospital in Talisay.

The fatality was a “highvalue” drug suspect and tested positive for drug use during a random test conducted among municipal government employees and barangay officials, police said.

In Cagayan, Nicolas Lara Agatep III, 41, was standing in front of a convenience store in Barangay Ignacio Jurado, Lasam when a man wearing a mask shot him several times at around 8 p.m.

Police said Agatep is a nephew of the alleged owner of a shabu laboratory found in Lasam in 2015. Court records show Agatep was acquitted of drug charges in 2004.

Hospital worker Raymundo Magora Jr., 43, and Rolando Abig Jr., 38, were shot by motorcycle riding-men in Barangay Centro 10, Tuguegarao and Tuao town, respectively, also in Cagayan.

Bar owner Diether Maraggun, 59, was in Barangay Napaccu Grande, Reina Mercedes, Isabela when he was fired at.

Unidentified men barged into the house of Arnold Santos, 42, in Barangay Geronimo, Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya and opened fire. The assailants fled in a white car.

Fernando Alcantara, 51, alias Abba, was shot by men who barged into his bedroom in Barangay Tabang, Plaridel, Bulacan. His visitor Zoylo Sison, who was sleeping in the adjacent room, was hit by a stray bullet.

Police said the fatalities surrendered under Oplan Tokhang last year.

Another drug surrenderee Jonathan Sayo, 29, was wounded in a gun attack while drinking liquor at the house of his friend in Barangay Dalaoig, Alcala, Cagayan.

Meanwhile, probers have yet to determine if the killing of businessman Edmund Mendoza, 56, in Barangay Poblacion, Malasiqui, Pangasinan was drug-related.