Glo pal slain in ambush

A businessman and civic leader and at the same time active political supporter of President Arroyo in Cebu was ambushed and killed by three men yesterday morning as he was on his way to his office in Cabancalan, Mandaue City.

Wilson Yu, 45, who owns Wam Manufacturing and Development Corporation, a company that sells furniture and surplus cars, was driving a Mercedes Benz when two of three men, who had apparently been waiting for him and had been drinking at a roadside store, lobbed a beer bottle at the car's windshield as it passed, prompting the businessman to step on the brakes.

As soon as Yu stopped, a third man, wearing a mask and cap, leaped toward the driver's side of the car and began firing at will from close range with a .45 caliber pistol.

After Yu slumped on the driver's seat, the assailant then fled, along with the two other men, on a Kawasaki Aura motorcycle in the direction of barangay Maguikay.

On learning of the incident, Arroyo promptly ordered PNP chief Arturo Lomibao and PNP regional director Eduardo Gador to swiftly bring the killers of her friend to justice.

The ambush took place just a hundred meters from Yu's office and one of his employees, Santiago Olivar, promptly ran toward the car as the attackers fled and brought his boss to the Perpetual Succour Hospital where a three-hour battle to save his life ended in vain.

Initial reports say three of the wounds Yu got on the chest had been fatal.

Mandaue City police have yet to come up with a theory on the killing but said business rivalry was a strong angle being looked into by investigators.

Cabinet Secretary Cerge Remonde of the Government Media Group confirmed that the president was interested in the early solution of the case, Yu having been her close political supporter who actively campaigned for her in Cebu in the 2004 elections.

Remonde, a Cebuano, said Yu had actually been a long-time supporter of Senator Miriam Santiago but because Santiago did not run for president in 2004, Yu supported Arroyo.

Remonde said Lomibao will be sending special investigators from Manila to Cebu to assist in the probe on behest of the president.

Remonde described Yu as a low-profile, well-mannered and soft-spoken businessman.

Yu was a former president of the Kiwanis Club of Cebu.

His family declined to issue any statement yesterday.

Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano chastised the police for failing to take preemptive measures to protect the business community in his city.

" The incident this morning only shows the failure of police intelligence to institute pre-emptive measures to protect the business community of Mandaue City. We assure the business sector, though, that this incident is an isolated case and Mandaue City, as always, is a safe hub for businessmen and investors, " Ouano said.

" The test now is on the effectiveness of police efficiency in solving this crime, " he said. - Fred Languido, Jose Sollano