Summary killings continue to rise in Davao City

DAVAO CITY — There seems to be no end in sight to the series of summary executions in this southern metropolis, victimizing mostly individuals suspected of involvement in the illegal drug trade and at times in other criminal activities.

In the last two weeks, 12 more people were slain, bringing to over 230 the victims of extrajudicial killings here, that are mostly attributed to the Davao Death Squad (DDS) vigilante group.

The latest victims in the series of senseless killings here were three men who were killed in two separate incidents on Wednesday. Julius dela Calzada, 24, of Barangay 23-C and allegedly a member of the Wangbu gang in the area, was on his way home when an unidentified person approached him and shot him repeatedly.

A few hours later, unidentified gunmen also took two more victims, one Rolando Canono and a certain Janjan.

Motorcycle-riding gunmen also struck midnight on Monday, killing a certain George Albores, 21, a resident of Barangay Shanghai in Matina Aplaya. Albores was reportedly shot in the head in front of his drinking buddies just outside his residence.

Police have become helpless in the face of the vigilante killings as there were no witnesses bold enough to testify in any of the over 230 cases.

Also, from Friday to Sunday, last week, five people were killed by the DDS.

Leonardo Dumanacal, 30, an employee of Superstar Coconut Oil Company, was found dead Sunday night with a single gunshot wound in the head near the border between San Rafael Village and Gem Village in Barangay Ma-a.

Two other victims — Gregorio Yu, 25, and Allen Tecson, 22, died last week.