JUNJUN Pacada never thought that going outside to get some fresh air after a meal would be his last.
But that’s exactly what happened to the 42-year-old.
Pacada went to visit his mother Marina Aljiano, 62, at the latter’s hut in Sitio Luna, Barangay Lagtang, Talisay City last Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. It was his first visit this month since Pacada lived in Sitio Sampaguita, Barangay Inayawan, Cebu City, where he hauled sand for a living.
He arrived around 7 p.m.
Since his mother and her live-in partner already had dinner, she opened a canned good for him. After he ate, he went outside while she washed the dishes inside.
Aljiano said she heard a man talking to her son.
“Ikaw ang nagpadakop kang Amier (You had Amier arrested),” she heard him say. Then gunshots rang out.
She and her live-in partner ran outside and found Pacada’s bloodied body lying on the ground. It was past 8 p.m.
Aljiano said she rushed to the barangay hall to report the incident so barangay officials could call the police.
“My neighbors told me that while I was running to the barangay hall I passed the gunman who was walking,” she said in Cebuano.
Before the shooting, Aljiano said she warned her son not to loiter outside.
“There are police assets in the neighborhood and they might see him and report his presence to the police. I didn’t want him to be arrested in a raid,” she said in Cebuano.
Aljiano said she knows who killed her son but she refused to divulge his name. However, she said she already gave the information to the police.
Aljiano said she had no idea if her son was involved in the illegal drug trade.
Lt. Col. Randy Caballes, Talisay City Police Station chief, said they are conducting a hot-pursuit operation against the gunman.
He said the motive behind the shooting may be personal since the victim and the suspect knew each other.
He said the suspect must have been on the lookout for Pacada for quite some time since Pacada rarely visited his mother. When the victim finally showed up, the suspect didn’t waste any time, the police chief said.
Caballes said they will check their records to see if Pacada is on their drugs watchlist. (BBT / PJB)