Abra gun-for-hire himself shot dead

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Philippines  – A suspected gun-for-hire tagged by authorities in at least 17 murder cases, was himself gunned down while en route to his arraignment for illegal possession of firearms in Bangued, Abra last Wednesday, police said.

Chief Superintendent Benjamin Magalong, Cordillera police director, said the gunman got near Jomar Bersalona who was aboard a police vehicle bringing him to the Justice Hall in Bangued for his arraignment.

Bersalona, 32, said to be a ward of an influential politician, was nabbed last week along with a companion during a drinking spree in a bar. Two pistols with bullets were seized from them.

Magalong said Bersalona and his companion, Jojo de los Santos, 25, were due for another “P30,000 contract to kill” on the day they were nabbed.