At least 10 heavily armed men, wearing bonnets, fired upon two police officers adjacent to a police station in Tanauan City, Batangas Province in the Northern part of the Philippines on Wednesday night.
Government authorities, investigating the case, have identified the two slain cops as Police officer Edgar Oba-Ob and Police Officer Ryan Cedric De Guzman.
Another civilian who was identified as Bendio Valencia was also wounded by a stray bullet. Currently, he is being treated at Laurel Hospital.
Senior Superintendent Randy Peralta, the police director of the Province, told journalists that the police officers were on duty at their post when the attack happened. At around 10:00 pm, the unidentified armed men, on board three vehicles, stopped near their post and fired their rifles and pistols at them. Both of the victims died on the spot.
Witnesses said the vehicles used by the unidentified killers include a red van, a white van and a white car sedan.
Peralta also said that the police are yet to identify the culprits and figure out the possible motive for the killing. Investigators are also interviewing the relatives of the deceased to figure out if they had any personal enemies.
Senior Inspector Hazel Luma-Ang, the spokesperson of the provincial police headquarters said, that investigators of the case have also recovered five empty shells of a calibre .45 and a dozen of shells of an automatic assault rifle.
A few weeks before the incident, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered policemen to run after politicians involved in illegal drug trading. Duterte has also pulled out the police security escorts of politicians who are involved in such illegal activities.
