The fatal shooting of a scuba diver-tour guide, and a security guard of a dive resort in Mayabon, Zamboanguita, was not a police rubout, Sr. Insp. Edilberto Diocades, police chief of Bacong, Negros Oriental, said yesterday.

He identified the victims as Marlon Doño, 34, married, of Purok Sunflower in Sitio Canday-ong, Barangay Calindagan, Dumaguete City; and Stanley Torres, 27, single, of Sitio Salngan in Mayabon, Zamboanguita town.

Diocades said “a rubout was not highly likely, as personal belongings of the two victims were untouched when policemen arrived at the crime scene.”

Investigation showed that Doño and Torres, who worked for a dive resort, were on board a motorcycle at around 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, when they were shot by two unidentified men on another motorcycle, at a remote area in Barangay Combado, Bacong.

Torres, who was driving, sustained four gunshot wounds, while Doño was shot three times in the back. Both died on the spot, the police said.

The Bacong police and the Scene of the Crime Operatives cannot determine the type of firearm used in the attack, as all the bullet wounds were through and through, and investigators have not been retrieved spent shells or slugs at the crime scene, Diocades said.

The police are investigating the motives for the shooting that could be a love triangle, or the work of a vigilant citizen, or citizens attempting to prevent another break-in, he added.

This was because Torres had been tagged by intelligence operatives as a suspect in several crimes perpetrated in Bacong, like the theft of fighting cocks or “akyat-bahay” (break-in) incidents, Diocades added.

However, he said Torres did not have a case filed against him.

Diocades also said the brother of Torres told investigators about his involvement in an argument with a “third party”, that led to the love triangle angle.

The police said they have possible suspects but refused to divulge identities to avoid compromising the ongoing investigation.*JFP

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