Marvin Vasquez
  • Sex: Male
  • Age: 34
  • Occupation: construction worker
Incident Details
  • Killed by unknown assailants in public
  • Date of Incident: November 7, 2018
  • Location of Incident: Iloilo City, Iloilo
Source(s)

BEFORE a single case of recent riding-in-tandem killing could be solved, another similar incident happened in Iloilo City late afternoon of Nov. 7, 2018 in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
Just like the previous victims, the latest fatality was allegedly involved in the illegal drugs trade.
Marvin Vasquez, 34, of Zone 3, Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao, was sitting on the roadside at Barangay Taft North around 5:54 p.m. when two motorcycle-riding men drove near him.
Vasquez was with fellow construction workers waiting for their salary.
The two assailants donned crash helmets over masks when they carried the hit.
Witnesses claimed the victim tried to run away but the gunman chased him and pumped at least six bullets into his body.
The two suspects immediately sped off after the incident.
Vasquez was rushed to the nearby Western Visayas Medical Center but was proclaimed dead on arrival.
Initial investigation showed he succumbed to a single gunshot wound on his lower jaw, with the bullet exiting the upper portion of his ear.
Police recovered six empty shells of caliber .9mm ammunition at the crime scene.
Vasquez’s mother, Monina, said there could have been more than two suspects as witnesses claimed to have seen at least three motorcycles in the area during the shooting.

TOKHANG TARGET
Police knocked on Vasquez’ home when Oplan Tokhang kicked off last 2016.
Tokhang, which came from the Visayan words toktok (knock) and hangyo (ask), aimed to convince suspected drug peddlers to stop their activities.
But Chief Inspector Marlon Valencia, Mandurriao police chief, said Vasquez did not submit himself to bio-profiling and did not sign any affidavit of undertaking.
“He escaped the area but was monitored to be going back to Bakhaw in several instances,” he added.
Monina admitted that her son was a drug user but he stopped following the government’s aggressive anti-drug campaign in 2016.
The mother believes that the motive could still be drugs since her son had no enemies.

NO SUSPECTS YET
Senior Superintendent Martin Defensor, Iloilo City police chief, confirmed that not one case of riding-in-tandem killings in recent months had been solved.
Prior to Vasquez’s death, a barangay tanod who surrendered to Oplan Tokhang was also gunned down in broad daylight at Barangay Calubihan, Jaro, Iloilo City on Oct. 5.
Neil Resma, 38, was washing his motorcycle around 9:15 a.m. of Oct. 5, 2018 when motorcycle-riding suspects shot him
According to the victim’s mother, the suspects wore masks and crash helmets.
Resma was considered a high-value target (HVT) Level 1 because he was a barangay tanod of Bakhaw, Mandurriao.
A few days before Resma’s killing, Defensor had already expressed worries that motorcycle-riding killings would just become a part of statistics.
“Ang worry ko nga ay baka mapabilang sya sa statistics,” he added.
Witnesses also found it hard to identify the suspects since they were wearing masks and crash helmets.
Defensor then bared plans to create an ad hoc team to conduct parallel investigation on motorcycle-riding killings.
Prior to assuming as ICPO chief on Sept. 12, Defensor vowed to solve killings involving motorcycle-riding suspects.
On Sept. 7, two Tokhang surrenderees were killed in a span of 10 hours.
Rolando Puda and Don Azucena were killed by riding-in-tandem gunmen.
Azucena, 39, was gunned down by still unidentified persons at Barangay Calumpang, Molo, Iloilo City at around 9:25 a.m. He died on the scene from multiple gunshot injuries on the body and head.
Meanwhile, Puda, 41, was shot dead near his house at Barangay Ingore, La Paz.
Four days later, a tricycle driver was also killed around 5 p.m. at Barangay Tacas, Jaro District.
Gerardo Mamarion, 25, was peppered with bullets several meters away from their house
All three incidents were perpetrated in the presence of several witnesses and bystanders.