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An official, who asked not to be identified, has stated that Paradise Village in Barangay Tonsuya, Malabon City is known by law enforcers as a haven for contract killers.
“The said area had started as a shantytown in the 1970s. Squatters then started occupying more than 50 hectares of idle land, most of which was owned by the city government and the remainder by private individuals,” reports Rey Galupo in The Philippine Star.
The official explained, “Those who arrived ahead of the others organized themselves and made money through illegal electric and water connections and by selling rights to those who want to put up shanties. Later they got into protection racket.”
The report noted: “In June, police conducted a series of raids on Fiovi Homes in Paradise Village after Norberto Sabarillo was identified as one of the men who reportedly killed Barangay 12, Caloocan councilor Conrado Cruz last year.”
According to the official who refused to be named, the masterminds — reportedly politicians — hire middlemen to contact the guns for hire. He added that “there are several groups operating inside Paradise Village and most of them know each other.”
“They even borrow personnel or guns depending on the requirements of the ‘job,’” he alleged.
The official alleged that some of the hired guns come from Visayas and Mindanao and that “a good number of them were former members of the Alex Boncayao Brigade,” an urban hit squad of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
For his part, Malabon police chief Senior Superintendent Severino Abad Jr. said the killings happen mostly outside of his jurisdiction, but he said he is willing to cooperate with other agencies.
Photo: MorgueFile
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