5 deaths linked to QC market feud

MANILA, Philippines - Investigators have recorded four violent incidents resulting in the deaths of five persons at the Commonwealth Market this year alone, all of which are possibly linked to a feud over the management of the marketplace, an official said yesterday.

Superintendent Eleazar Matta, commander of the Quezon City Police District-Station 6, there have been cases of vendors ejected from the privately run market. 

Matta said an ice retailer was killed in January while a meat stall owner and another person were slain in a single attack in April.

On Oct. 25, Rosario Tortoles, an administrative staff of the market, was robbed and then shot in the head repeatedly. Matta said Tortoles had started receiving threats to her life since about five years ago.

The most recent of the killings was that of market inspector Roger Pineda, who was shot on Oct. 28. 

According to Matta, both Pineda and Tortoles had allegedly caused the ejectment of 19 vendors.

The police official said it could be that the cause of the killings was related to management of the market.

“There are about 4,000 stalls in the market. Each stall owner pays an average of P200 to P300 per day. That’s roughly around P800,000 every day and this amount does not include the rentals paid by those outside, including the parking spaces,” Matta said in an interview.

Matta said they are trying to locate these ejected vendors to provide clues that could lead to the solution of the killings.

These meant getting records from village authorities, but the police official said this was a hard task since even village officials hardly have records of these past disputes.

Even in the cases of these killings, the relatives have not come forward to provide details. Matta said even witnesses were scarce.

At the moment, Matta has established a 24-hour police presence at the market to prevent future attacks.