Traffic cop gunned down in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - A traffic policeman was shot dead Thursday night while waiting for Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada’s car to pass through Legarda street.

Police Officer 3 Rolando Flores was shot six times, and was seen begging for his life before dying of three gunshot wounds in the head, according to case officer Senior Police Officer 1 Jonathan Bautista.

“The one behind this must be very angry,” he said, adding that the motive has yet to be established.

Flores was leading the traffic police officers assigned to secure the streets, as Estrada was about to go home.

He was seated behind a Volkswagen car at about 7 p.m. when an unidentified man, clad in a white shirt and cap, fired a .45 caliber pistol at close range but missed him.

According to three witnesses, Flores turned his head after hearing the gunshot and the assailant poking a gun near his face.

Flores “begged for his life” but was shot repeatedly, they said. When he fell to the pavement, the assailant fired the pistol in various directions, prompting witnesses to run away.