Members of the Manila Police District (MPD) arrested two suspects in the killing of a 63-year-old woman in Ermita, Manila on Jan. 15.
The suspects, identified as Abdulgani Mansore Said, 35, the alleged gunman; and Morsid Omal Pendatun, 25, the motorcycle driver, were arrested on Tuesday, Jan. 16.
They were apprehended following sustained follow-up operations and closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage backtracking conducted by the MPD-Ermita Police Station (PS-5).
Police said the victim, identified as Paulina Vergara, 63, was shot in the head on Monday at around 1 p.m. on Jorge Bocobo Street in Ermita.
Authorities said that before the shooting incident, a witness saw the gunman, who was wearing a white upper garment, a black cap, a blue facemask, and a sling bag, standing with the crowd under a tree in the area.
The witness said that he suddenly heard a gunshot and saw the victim already bleeding from her nose.
After the incident, the witness saw the suspect place a gun in his sling bag and casually walk toward Padre Faura Street.
The victim was rushed by her family to the Manila Doctors Hospital where she was declared dead at around 5:31 p.m. due to hemorrhagic shock.
Crime scene investigators recovered a fired cartridge case from a .45-caliber gun at the site of the incident.
Police said the CCTV footage that they gathered from Bocobo Police Community Precinct (PCP), Barangay 668, Barangay 653 and Port Area PCP, showed the suspects' specific routes before and after the incident.
The suspects and the black and white Suzuki Raider 150 without plate number that they used in the commission of the crime are now under the custody of the MPD-Criminal Investigation Section (CIS). Murder charges will be filed against them, police said.
Meanwhile, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez, Jr. lauded the quick response of the policemen that resulted in the immediate arrest of the suspects.
He also assured that they will conduct an investigation to determine the motive and the cohorts in the killing of the businesswoman.
"I already ordered the team to expedite and to conduct an extensive probing on this case to determine the root of the shooting incident. We assure you that the suspects will be punished and will be duly charged for the crime they committed,” he said.