Labor row eyed in cabbie’s slay

MANILA, Philippines – Valenzuela police investigators are looking into a labor case a taxi driver won against his former employer as among the motives for his murder Wednesday morning.

Alfredo Labasbas, 65, was shot twice in the head at close range by an assailant who entered Safe Taxi’s garage on East Service Road just before 9 a.m. on Jan. 27.

The assailant fled on a motorcycle driven by a companion.

The same assailant was seen roaming the area the day before the attack, on footage taken by a closed-circuit television camera at a gas station near the taxi firm’s garage, police said.

Labasbas won a labor case he filed against MJC Machinery Elevator Supply on Jan. 25. He agreed to dismiss his complaint against the company, which paid him P150,000. He also agreed not to pursue perjury cases against several of the company’s employees, according to documents obtained by police.