A SUSPECTED drug personality was shot dead by motorcycle-riding men at 10:55 p.m. in Moalboal town, southwest Cebu.
Police identified the victim as Jaylord Tabanao Tapales, 26, single, a resident of Barangay Tunga, Moalboal.
Police Captain Elmond John Mondaya, chief of Moalboal Police Station, told SunStar Cebu that the victim was standing outside the Moalboal gym, where the Miss Moalboal coronation night was held, when the shooter peppered him with bullets.
The shooter, who was 5'4" in height and believed to be in his 20s, was sporting a white t-shirt and a sling bag.
The victim was hit in the chest, and the bullet exited in his back.
He was brought to Badian District Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.
Police did not rule out the possibility that the killing was illegal drugs-related.
It was learned that the victim was arrested by Moalboal police in 2018 due to illegal drugs, but was freed in 2020 through plea bargaining agreement. (GPL/TPT)