A maintenance personnel of a car dealership in Tagbilaran City who was on his way to work was shot dead while riding a motorcycle by two still unidentified gunmen in Cortes town at past 7 a.m. on Thursday.
Cortes police chief Lt. Roy Susvilla identified the fatality as Ramil Ceballos, a resident of Barangay Canapnapan in Corella, who was an employee of a Toyota dealership in Tagbilaran City.
According to Susvilla, Ceballos was shot by motorcycle-riding men who rode-in tandem along a national highway in Barangay de Lapaz, Cortes.
Both motorcycles engaged in a high-speed chase heading towards Tagbilaran City before the suspects caught up with Ceballos and shot him.
“Naay nakakita na nagginukuray ning duha ka motor, ang gisakyan sa victim ug sa suspect, gikan sa Lourdes, Cortes kay ang biktima taga Canapnapan, Corella ‘nya mao to na pag-abot sa may skwelahan mao to natumba ‘gyud siya. Padung duty sa Tagbilaran ning biktima,” said Susvilla.
Ceballos was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
He sustained three gunshot wounds in his body while crime scene investigators found spent shells fired from a .45 caliber pistol in the area.
Susvilla said that Ceballos, a week before he was gunned down, received a death threat and reported the incident to the Corella Police Station.
“Among agtuon sa Corella kay allegedly sa mga one week ago nagpa-blotter kuno ng victim na naay threat sa iyang kinabuhi. E-validate lang namo,” he added.
Police however have yet to pinpoint a motive behind Ceballos’ murder.
Meanwhile, investigators are coordinating with Tagbilaran City police and other local authorities in gaining access to closed-circuit television camera footage from establishments and other CCTVs mounted near the area.
“Mi coordinate ta sa TaRSIER kay basin na-capture sa CCTV. ‘Nya gipasa ta sa CDRRMO. Ingon ko na ‘please unaha g’yud na ninyo. At least magukod na nato [suspects]…’ We are running out of time, ang atong kontra is ang oras,” said Susvilla.
Police said that the suspects fled towards the city following the daylight gun attack. (Allen Doydora)