CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija: Two alleged drug peddlers were killed here on Tuesday in what residents saw as the province’s part in the perceived nationwide “drug cleansing operation”. At least four had been killed here since last week. The latest was 60-year-old Efren Damian of Barangay Sta. Rita, Cabiao town, and one alias “Unyo Reyes,” from neighboring San Antonio town. Last Friday, Sheryl Paraiso-Santos, a suspected drug dealer, and her brother-in-law Pedro Santos were also killed in Talavera town. Chief of police Senior Insp. Rico Cayabyab, in his report to Senior Supt. Manuel Cornel, said Damian was inside the grocery store with his 20-year-old live-in partner at about 9 a.m. on Tuesday when two unidentified gunmen fired at him twice on the head. His partner, Evangeline Dar, sustained gunshot wounds in the right arm. The suspects, believed to be part of a vigilante group on the loose in Nueva Ecija targeting suspected drug pushers, fled on board two separate motorcycles. In San Antonio, Senior Insp. Arnel Aguilar said Unyo Reyes was sitting on a bench by the road side when assailants shot him. Aguilar said the victim was on the list of alleged drug peddlers in the province.
