Vegetable dealer shot dead in Binondo

MANILA, Philippines – A 26-year-old vegetable dealer died after a gunman shot him repeatedly at a crowded flea market in Binondo, Manila past midnight yesterday.

Glenn Maranan, of Calamba, Laguna, was declared dead on arrival at the Mary Johnston Hospital due to 11 gunshot wounds in the body.

Witnesses described Maranan’s attacker as a man about 5’10” tall and wearing a red long-sleeved polo shirt, a bull cap and a mask. He was armed with a .45 caliber pistol.

According to homicide section head Chief Inspector Alberto Peco, Maranan was collecting payments from vendors when the ambush occurred. Maranan supplied vegetables from Laguna to vendors in Divisoria market and collected payments at night.

The gunman approached Maranan and repeatedly shot him at close range in full view of a horrified crowd, Peco said.

Investigators initially ruled out robbery as a motive for the shooting since the suspect left Maranan’s cash collection intact. – Nestor Etolle