Manila barangay chief gunned down

MANILA, Philippines - A barangay chairman was shot dead by two unidentified men in his home in Quiapo, Manila Thursday night.

Barangay 348 Zone 39 chairman Sainal Shariff, 56, was watching television with his wife when two men parked their motorcycle in front of his house along Globo de Oro street at around 8:30 p.m. The back rider shot Shariff twice in the head and two more times in the chest.

Manila Police District (MPD) homicide investigator Senior Police Officer 1 Alonzo Layugan said Shariff’s two nephews witnessed the attack, and one of them even chased the gunman.

Layugan said the gunman apparently wrapped his gun, probably a rifle with a silencer, with a sack.

“There were no spent bullets at the crime scene although the victim bore multiple gunshot wounds,” he said.

Shariff’s remains were immediately flown to his hometown of Masin, Lanao del Sur to be buried in accordance with Muslim tradition.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, accompanied by MPD director Chief Superintendent Alex Gutierrez, went to the Islamic Center in Quiapo to personally talk to other barangay officials and residents. He ordered Gutierrez to leave no stone unturned in catching Shariff’s killers.