A 40-year-old barangay chairman was gunned down by suspected vigilantes in Caloocan City Friday.
Police identified the victim as Jerrboy Mauricio, chairman of Barangay 68 in Caloocan.
Investigation showed that Mauricio was outside the barangay hall on Del Mundo St. when four men wearing helmets, black jackets, and denim pants onboard two motorcycles arrived.
The suspects drew guns and fired at the victim. Mauricio was wounded but managed to run to his office.
Two of the suspects followed him to his office where 12 gunshots rang out. The suspects escaped onboard their motorcycles without license plates afterwards.
Recovered from the crime scene were spent .45 caliber pistol shells.
The victim’s family is appealing for justice from authorities.
According to Catherine Elinor Mayo, 31, a sibling of Mauricio, said he is a good man.
“It is very painful to us that they killed my brother who was a good man. We are appealing to authorities to help us. The gunmen shot him nine times in the head and thrice in the body,” Mayo said.
She denied that her brother was involved in illegal drugs. According to her, he surrendered to the police in 2016 to clear his name.
“My brother only went to Senior Supt. Johnson Almazan (former police chief of Caloocan) so he could clear his name.
He did not surrender because of drug pushing,” she reiterated.
Mayo said her brother would not have many debts if he was involved in drug pushing. “If my brother was really into drug pushing, he is very rich by now and has no debts. But the truth is that he has many debts,” she said.
She bared that Mauricio helped gather pieces of evidence against abusive officials in Caloocan. “My brother hates corruption. He helped file raps against abusive officials in our city,” she said.
The victim’s family is convinced that politics is the reason behind his death. (Jel Santos)