Customs broker, bodyguard gunned down

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — A well-known Customs broker here and his personal security aide were killed while a security guard was seriously wounded when a lone gunman, believed to have a personal grudge with the broker, peppered his office with bullets Friday night.

Retired Gen. Jose Calimlim, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority senior deputy administrator for operations, identified the fatalities as Ric Tubig, a local businessman engaged in the processing of Customs clearances and documentation of imported second-hand vehicles, and his bodyguard, Rommel Pineda, 42.

Security officer Donald Garin was seriously wounded and was rushed to the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital.

"This is an isolated case that involved a personal grudge," Calimlim told The STAR.

The gunman, whose identity was withheld, is now the subject of a manhunt.

Investigation showed that the gunman entered Tubig’s office at Asia International Auctioneer and waited for him to come from a meeting.

When Tubig arrived, gunshots rang out. Tubig and Pineda died on the spot.

A witness said the gunman is believed to be a member of the Vanguard movement, an organization of former military officers and their civilian supporters. — With Ric Sapnu