Manila cop shot dead

An off-duty Manila policeman was shot dead, including his errand boy, by a lone gunman in Tondo, Manila, late Tuesday.

Police Officer 2 Esmeraldo Sasil, 44, detailed at the District Headquarters Support Unit (DHSU) of the Manila Police District (MPD), is the fourth police officer to die in ambush in Manila since December.

Also killed by an unidentified gunman was a certain "Alvin," Sasil’s errand boy.

According to investigator Senior Police Officer 2 Edmundo Cabal, Sasil and one Arjay Haguilan were having a drink outside the officer’s house in Vitas, Tondo, at around 11:30 p.m. when a hooded gunman appeared.

The suspect fired repeatedly at Sasil and also shot the errand boy when he came out to investigate.

Both victims were taken to the Tondo Medical Center but they died along the way.

Witnesses said they failed to get a good look at the suspect because he was wearing a bonnet, prompting the police to suspect that the assailant could be a hired killer. Investigators are trying to determine the motive for the attack.

Sasil is the fourth Manila policeman to be killed in ambush, according to police records.

Last Dec. 10, Police Officer 2 Bayani Neri was shot and killed in broad daylight by several armed men in front of his house in Tondo.

On Dec. 20, Senior Police Officer 3 Jess Valera was killed by motorcycle-riding armed men when he responded to an ambush on a money exchange dealer along Taft Avenue.

Two days later, retired Manila policeman Edgardo Castro, formerly detailed at the defunct Presidential Anti-Illegal Recruitment Task Force, was ambushed together with civilian Armando Landar at a parking lot in Harrison Plaza. All the cases remain unsolved.