The lawyer for known drug lord Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr and a 15-year-old girl were killed in an ambush in Tacloban City on Tuesday.
48-year-old Rogelio Bato Jr and an unidentified teenager were ambushed by gunmen riding in a white truck and a motorcycle.
Police said they are unsure if the murders were related to the drug cases that the lawyer handled, including those of Kerwin and several other suspected drug dealers in the city.
Authorities said Bato was the lawyer for Ricardo Rondina who is still incarcerated, as well as his cousin Ferdinand Rondina who is out on bail – both men are known drug dealers in the city.
The young girl killed in the ambush was still wearing her school uniform – the two were said to be heading to the mall. Authorities said the girl was a fourth year high school student at the Sagkiahan National High School, her name has not been released due to her age.
Witnesses to the scene of the ambush told police that Bato slowed down because of road construction in Lumbang II, that’s when the white truck and the motorcycle sped up and opened fire on the Toyota pickup that Bato and the teen were riding in.
Police said the gunmen used M16 rifles and .45 calibre pistols.
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