A FORMER barangay councilman, who was included in the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) watch list issued last April, was gunned down in Barangay Gomez in Dagupan City on August 3.

Superintendent Franklin Ortiz, town police chief, said Marlon Serrano, 38, a resident of Barangay PNR Site, San Carlos City, was shot several times by still unidentified gunmen.

“According to our witnesses, the victim was outside his workplace and readying to go home when two armed men stepped out of a van nearby and shot him (Serrano) several times,” Ortiz said.

Serrano was rushed by his co-workers to a nearby hospital, but was declared dead on arrival, he added.

Several empty shells from a caliber .45 handgun and M-16 rifle were recovered by the police from the crime scene, Ortiz said.

Serrano was one of the five barangay councilmen in Pangasinan in the drug watch list released in April before the holding of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

“The victim, however, did not run for re-election,” he said.

A joint investigation regarding Serrano’s death is now being conducted by the Malasiqui and San Carlos Police. (PNA)