A policeman died after he was shot by another member of the Philippine National Police in the island province of Siquijor Friday evening.

Siquijor PNP provincial director, Supt. Orlando Ualat, said the shooting took place about 7 p.m. Friday in Barangay Dumanhog, Siquijor town.

Initial police investigation showed that SPO1 Michael Estorba Abella was on board a motorcycle and driving along the national highway in Dumanhog, Siquijor, when SPO1 Urcisio Ladion Jumawan accosted him.

A heated argument erupted between the two before both started firing their guns at each other.

Both policemen sustained gunshot wounds while a bystander, William Agan, 40, also of the barangay, was hit by a stray bullet on his leg.

The three were brought to the Siquijor Provincial Hospital , where Abella died an hour later.

Ualat said a personal grudge is being eyed as the motive for the shooting. The police recovered four empty shells and one magazine for a 9-mm handgun from the crime scene.

Ualat said Jumawan, who survived the shooting, is under close guard at the hospital while further investigation is being conducted.

He lamented that so far, no witnesses have surfaced but the police are trying to convince them to cooperate so they can get to the bottom of the shooting.

Ualat, however, assured that proper charges will be filed as soon as they will have additional evidence.

He added that the police in Siquijor are awaiting the results of the autopsy conducted on the dead policeman and ballistics tests on both Jumawan and Abella*JG  

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