Army officer shot dead

CALUMPIT, Bulacan — Four suspected communist hit men gunned down an Army officer in front of his girlfriend’s house here yesterday, police said.

Investigators said 1Lt. Paul Fortuni of the Army’s 56th Infantry Battalion was replacing the flat tires of his vehicle in front of his girlfriend’s house where he had spent the night when the four men shot him repeatedly, killing him on the spot.

Witnesses said the gunmen then fled to the river where they boarded a motorized boat.

With Fortuni’s killing, residents fear that the military might intensify their operations here and in other coastal towns.

Meanwhile, two policemen were killed and another was wounded in a clash with 50 rebels in Abra de Ilog, Mindoro Occidental yesterday morning.

The slain policemen were identified as PO1s Michael Tanedo and Nong Tambawang, both belonging to the Regional Mobile Group. Wounded was PO1 Eddiever Berayo. — Dino Balabo, Ric Sapnu and Arnell Ozaeta