Family and friends of a Church worker who was shot to death in front of the Bacolod Cosmopolitan Christian Church in Brgy. Taculing, Bacolod City, on Sunday, Aug. 24, by a still unidentified gunman are calling for justice.
The killing of Church driver Efren Banaglorioso, 59, could have been a case of mistaken identity, Capt. Rosalindo Pugoy Jr., Bacolod Police Station 6 commander, said.
Banaglorioso, who lived in Barangay Granada, had no criminal record or any know connection with any shady characters, Pugoy said.
His family also could not think of any possible motive for his killing, he added.
Pugoy said for now they are looking at the mistaken identity angle but are not discounting the possibility that Banaglorioso may have had an enemy.
“He was a friendly, jolly person,” a longtime co-worker of Banaglorioso said on Monday.
Banaglorioso, father of four, had served the Church for 37 years, as a driver, janitor, and all-around helper.
“He had many friends, even among the pedicab drivers outside the church. The church even lent him a motorcycle so he could come to work, since sometimes he didn’t have money for fare,” his colleague who asked not to be identified said.
“Efren never mentioned having enemies, making his killing a shocking blow,” he added.
CCTV footage showed Banaglorioso going out of the Church gate and standing on the sidewalk when a black SUV stopped near him.
A masked man in a multicolored long-sleeved shirt emerged from the vehicle and shot him multiple times in the chin with an exit wound in the head, back and his ear before fleeing in the waiting vehicle.
Scene of the Crime Operatives recovered six empty shells from an unidentified firearm at the site.*