A police officer posted at the town of Famy in Laguna province and his friend who is a cockfight aficionado were assassinated separately in Famy and Siniloan, respectively, at the weekend.
The assailants were alleged to be motorcycle-mounted gunmen riding tandem style.
Police Officer 2 Rogelio Ebora Cuento, 42 years old and married and said to be a brother of former mayor Joel Cuento of Sta. Maria, Laguna, was on his way home after attending a Christmas party of his high school batchmates, on board a black Mitsubishi Montero SUV (license plate RRC-03), when waylaid by an undetermined number of assailants at Barangay Balitoc, Famy.
The bullet were initially suspected to be fired from caliber .45 handguns and carbine rifle, and the victim was believed to have died on the spot from about 15 gunshot wounds.
The gunmen quickly fled the scene.
The other victim was identified as a good friend of Cuento, Pepito Valois, 39, married and a resident of Barangay Batuhan, Famy.
He succumbed to wounds on his body and head from gunshots fired by motorcycle riding assailants while he was on his way home from a cockfight event near the Siniloan Public Market.
The two incidents happened about five hours apart. Relatives of the two victims claimed that they had no known enemies.