Unidentified gunmen shot dead a peasant leader in Mariveles, Bataan, last Friday, another case of extra-judicial killing in the country which has been repeatedly condemned by the international community.

The victim was identified as 49-year-old Eranio Vargas, tricycle driver, and vice president
of the local group Samahang Maralita ng Magsasaka ng Sityo Paliparan, Barangay Lucanin.

Inspector Leah Young, spokesperson of the Bataan Police, said Vargas was driving his tricycle along Sitio Paliparan in Barangay Lucanin at around 1 p.m. on Friday, when two armed men on board a motorbike flagged him down.

“One of them shot the victim at the back of his head. He died on the spot,” said Young.

The gunmen then sped off, leaving behind the body of the victim and shells of the .45 pistol they used in the liquidation.

Young said local investigators are yet to determine the motive for the killing.