A POLICE officer from Bohol, who had been Absent Without Leave (Awol), was shot dead by an unknown assailant inside a residential subdivision in Barangay Punta Princesa, Cebu City before dawn Sunday, March 11.
Police Officer (PO) 3 Ben Serohijos, 44, a native of Dauis who was previously assigned to Loay Police Station in Bohol, was killed along Zodiac Drive in Pleasant Homes Subdivision.
Senior Police Officer (SPO) 1 Winston Magdadaro of the Homicide Section of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said Serohijos sustained three gunshot wounds to the head from a caliber .45 pistol.
A small sachet of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, was allegedly found inside his wallet together with his Philippine National Police (PNP) identification cards, one bearing the rank of PO3 and another for SPO1.
Magdadaro said the victim was considered Awol after he failed to report to his reassignment to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
An informant said that at 1:20 a.m., he heard three gunshots and when he went outside, he saw the victim, lying motionless on the ground.
Investigators have yet to determine the motive.