Ambush try on BOC lawyer work-related -- Pasay police


The Pasay City police said the ambush try on a Bureau of Customs (BOC) lawyer is related to his work as assistant chief of internal inquiry division.

Col. Cesar Paday-os, Pasay City police chief, during an ocular inspection conducted at the crime scene, said there are six cases being handled by the victim, Atty. Joseph Samuel Zapata, 30, of Barangay San Isidro, Paranaque City.

Paday-os said they also recovered five pieces of fired cartridge cases of a .9mm pistol.

He said a team of investigators from the Station Investigation and Detective Management Section (SIDMS) was sent to the hospital where the victim is confined and was able to interview the parents of Zapata.

The city police chief said the father of Zapata, Claro, claimed that on September, 2021, his son had an argument with a BOC employee assigned at NAIA Terminal I after serving a subpoena against the employee.

Paday-os said the verbal tussle between Zapata and the BOC employee happened inside the BOC Internal Inquiry Division at NAIA Terminal I.

He said that a request for interview with the chief of Internal Inquiry Division, identified as Atty. Jonathan Mengulio was already sent to determine what really transpired between Zapata and the employee as claimed by the parents of the victim.

Zapata, based on the CCTV footage taken at the BOC, left the office parking area at around 5:10 p.m.

The victim suffered a gunshot wound at the back of his head after being shot by two unidentified gunmen riding in tandem around 5:40 p.m. along Macapagal Boulevard in front of MET Live, Barangay 75, Zone 10, Pasay City.