By Jennifer P. Rendon
A 30-year-old delivery van driver died instantly in a gun attack inside the Iloilo Fish Port Complex in City Proper, Iloilo City.
Darwin Ginarangan, an employee of CMJ Agri- Venture and resident of Escalante, Negros Occidental, succumbed to two gunshot injuries on his buttocks and the back portion of his head.
Police reports said Ginarangan was walking towards the delivery vehicle when 27-year-old John Mark Cabugao of Barangay Alijis, Bacolod City, approached him from behind.
Cabugao, who used to work as a helper at CMJ Agri-Venture, then shot the victim twice using a caliber .40 pistol.
The suspect first shot the victim’s buttocks before finishing him off with a shot to the head.
Ginarangan was no longer taken to the hospital while Cabugao fled after the incident.
The suspect was later arrested in a hot pursuit operation.
Captain Roque Gimeno III, Iloilo City Police Station 1 chief, said a personal grudge was seen as the motive of the incident.
Cabugao accused Ginaringan of snitching him to their boss at CMJ Agri-Venture, a Bacolod City-based company that was into the distribution of dressed chicken.
According to the suspect, the victim accused him of stealing their products.
“According to the suspect, Ginaringan has been feeding false information about him. Gina-akusahan siya kuno nga nagapalasik sang manok,” Gimeno said.
The company subsequently laid off Cabugao effective on September 9, a day before the incident.
“Since he knew the victim’s delivery schedule, the suspect waited, approached the victim, and shot him,” Gimeno said.
At least four persons personally witnessed the killing.
Aside from harboring a grudge over the alleged snitching, Cabugao also claimed that the victim had once threatened him with a gun.
The suspect also claimed that Ginaringan threatened to kill his family.
“But that’s just his allegations. Whatever his reasons are, one thing is clear: he planned the killing and he will have to face consequences for what he did,” Gimeno said.
Ginaringan is survived by his two young children.
