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[av_heading heading=’Ambushed operator of STL Iloilo dies; investigators face blank wall’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’18’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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Monday, March 19, 2018
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ILOILO City – Four days after he was ambushed, the operator of Small Town Lottery (STL) in Iloilo province died.
Samuel Aguilar, 47, died of multiple organ failure on Saturday night at The Medical City in Molo district where he had been confined since Tuesday last week for six gunshot wounds on the body.
The police, meanwhile, remained clueless as to the identities of the motorcycle-riding gunmen that ambushed Aguilar in Barangay Buyu-an, Tigbauan, Iloilo.
Doctors declared Aguilar dead at 11:18 p.m. on March 17.
Aguilar’s Eagle Crest Gaming and Holding Corp. as STL franchisee of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in Iloilo province has been operating for some two years now. It faced stiff competition from illegal numbers games such as “bookies.”
The police of Tigbauan was able to secure a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of Aguilar’s ambush. There were two culprits – the motorcycle driver was wearing a helmet and black jacket while the back rider who fired at Aguilar’s van was wearing a helmet, a gray jacket with a hood and a pair of jeans.
The CCTV footage, however, may not be enough to identify the two men who had deftly concealed their faces, said Senior Inspector Hermogenes Eulatic, Tigbauan police chief.
He believed the March 13 ambush was business-related but did not elaborate.
Sept. 25 last year, Aguilar was ambushed in Alabang, Muntinlupa City in Metro Manila but he was not hit.
According to an Eagle Crest employee, Aguilar previously received death threats.
The employee asked not to be identified for security reasons.
Only Aguilar was hurt in the Tigbauan ambush; his five bodyguards and the van driver weren’t.
“It was obvious that Aguilar was the target. All the bullets were fired on the side of the van where the businessman was seated,” said Eulatic.
Just like in the Muntinlupa ambush last year, an M-16 was also used on Aguilar in Tigbauan./PN
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