Cop identified with suspected gambling lord gunned down in Laguna

Motorcycle-riding men shot dead over the weekend a policeman identified with slain suspected gambling lord Vic Siman in Calamba City in Laguna province.

 

Police are now tracking the suspects in the killing of PO2 Rufino Deocampo Mendoza, who was eating at a carinderia when he was shot dead Saturday night, radio dzBB reported.

 

The report said Mendoza is identified with Siman, who was among 13 men killed in a shooting incident in Atimonan town in Quezon province last January.

 

An initial investigation showed two men on a motorcycle shot him with a cal-.45 pistol. He was rushed to the Calamba Medical Center but succumbed to his wounds.

 

Calabarzon police head Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona has ordered an investigation into the possible links with the killing of Siman last Jan. 6 in Atimonan.

 

President Benigno Aquino III ordered an investigation into the Jan. 6 incident, which police initially claimed was a shootout with members of a gun-for-hire gang.

 

But questions about the operation and claims of excessive use of force prompted a full investigation into the incident.

 

The Palace is still studying the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation about the incident. — RSJ, GMA News