DAVAO CITY – – -A doctor of the regional health office who headed the epidemiological research and surveillance department, the unit tasked to monitor and address the A (H1N1) flu cases, was shot dead in his car while going home last night.
Dr. Rogelio Bong Peera, 46, was driving home to Countryville subdivision in Barangay Cabantian with his 15 year old daughter when shot.
Police told Bombo Radyo Davao that the victim sustained several gunshot wounds on his head. His daughter was also reported to have been hit and was treated at the Davao Medical Center.
The killers were on board two DT motorcycles. They fired their guns at the doctor inside his blue Honda Civic car.
Empty shells of .45 caliber pistols were recovered at the crime scene.
Assistant Regional Director Dr. Salvador Estrera told RMN-DXDC Davao radio that DOH was about to send Peera, an expert in infectious diseases, to the University of the Philippines for further studies but the plan was stalled because of the A (H1N1) pandemic.
Estreras said Peera was an expert in dengue and malaria, diseases which commonly afflict poor communities.
But Davao-based Bayan Muna national vice president Joel Virador said Peera was also active in political campaigns that sought governments attention to the sordid state of the countrys health care delivery.
Peera was active in groups like the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), the Rx for Peace and Health People United for the Removal of Gloria (Purga), a group of medical practitioners and health workers calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
He actively opposed the privatization of public hospitals and fought for the delivery of basic health services, including free medicines, to poor communities in the region. (Cheryll Fiel/davaotoday.com)
Extrajudicial Killings
