Ex-Cebu town mayor shot dead inside hospital

CEBU CITY, Philippines – At least 15 armed men stormed a private hospital and shot dead former Medellin town mayor Ricardo “Ricky” Ramirez  late Tuesday night, June 18. 

Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) public information officer Eleveo Marquez said the gunmen disarmed the jail guard detailed outside Ramirez’s room and destroyed the door.

“They disarmed the guard on watch and told the medical personnel and others to lay flat on the floor. They took the nurse and asked her to show them where the room Ricky Ramirez was being detained in,” Marquez said in Cebuano. 

The 55-year-old Ramirez was under hospital arrest at the Bogo-Medellin Medical Center (BMMC) in his town. 

When the gunmen entered the room, Ramirez ran to the toilet but was cornered and shot dead.

Medellin Police told Rappler that Ramirez was accompanied by his son’s girlfriend and a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology staff at the time, but both were not hurt in the attack.

Ramirez was arrested in 2017 for illegal possession of firearms and drug paraphernalia. While he was originally detained in prison, he was later granted hospital arrest after suffering from chest pains.

Ramirez served 3 terms as mayor of the northern Cebu town until 2016, and was elected as a municipal councilor that year.

Police are still investigating the attack. – Rappler.com