A 31-YEAR-OLD man was killed after he allegedly opened fire at police officers responding to a report about an armed individual at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 in Sitio Tomoy, Barangay Ibabao, Cordova.
The fatality was identified as Merson Fernandez Manching, also known as “Balot,” a resident of Sitio Bankal in the same barangay.
According to the Cordova Police Station, they received a call from a concerned citizen reporting the presence of an armed man in the area. The caller described the suspect as wearing a black sleeveless shirt and dirty white short pants.
Led by Maj. John Khalev Sanchez, police and intelligence personnel immediately responded to the report.
Upon arriving at the scene, they spotted a man matching the description provided by the caller. Police said that when the man noticed their presence, he entered an abandoned house located in a grassy area and allegedly fired at the responding officers.
The police returned fire, resulting in Manching’s injuries.
The officers immediately called the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to transport him to the Mactan Doctors Hospital in Lapu-Lapu City, but he was declared dead on arrival.
Personnel from the Scene of the Crime Operation recovered a firearm of still undetermined caliber, four rounds of ammunition, two packets of suspected shabu, and assorted drug paraphernalia.
Based on their investigation, police believed that Manching was also the gunman in a shooting incident that occurred at 11:50 a.m. last July 12 in Sitio Bankal. In that incident, Roberto Senit Tampus, also known as “Jojo,” 28, a resident of Barangay Buaya, Lapu-Lapu City, was killed.
Police said a murder case had already been filed against Manching before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in connection with the incident. / AYB
