TWO men on a motorcycle timed their attack on a Japanese man when the van he was riding stopped for a red light in Mandaue City yesterday morning.
They shot Hiroshi Kusaka, 49, several times at the corner of G. Ouano and Plaridel Sts., Barangay Cambaro.
Mandaue City Police Director Rodel Calungsud said they are pursuing two angles: whether the shooting was business-related or a “double-cross” of his trusted driver in Japan.
Kusaka suffered gunshot wounds in different parts of the body while his driver Efren Rosales was unhurt.
The attackers were riding a black Enduro motorcycle. Both were in their 20s, wearing black jackets and black helmets.
Police initially held Rosales, also a manager of Kusaka’s H.K. Travel and Tours, for obstruction of justice as he ordered that the van be washed after the shooting.
But Calungsud later ordered Rosales’ release. “Nataranta lang to siya (Rosales got rattled),” Calungsud said.
Police investigators are focusing on Kusaka’s business dealings and on the possibility that his trusted Japanese driver in Japan double-crossed him for P20 million.
They are checking if the Japanese driver is in the country.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes ordered for a deeper investigation. He will meet barangay chiefs for their tanods to help the police in street patrols.
Opao Police Station Chief Pat Paragatos Padaon, crime scene area commander, said Kusaka was on his way to the airport for a 7:45 a.m. flight for Narita, Japan when he was shot at 6:30 a.m.
Police found three .45 caliber shells and a deformed slug at the crime scene.
Padaon sent the recovered items and the van to the PNP Crime Laboratory for examination, while Kusaka’s body will undergo autopsy.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 7 will assist the Mandaue City Police Office in investigating the fatal ambush.
Padaon believes that the two attackers followed Kusaka when he left City Lights Condominium in Barangay Busay, Cebu city, where he was staying at that time.
Rosales was driving the van and Kusaka was seated behind him.
Upon reaching Plaridel St. in Mandaue, the van stopped for a red light at the G. Ouano intersection. The perpetrators positioned on the right side of the van.
Security guard Mark Ryan Telmoso told radio dyAB that he heard three bursts of gunfire and saw the motorcycle backrider pointing his gun at the van.
The attackers made a U-turn and fled towards Cebu City. Rosales rushed Kusaka to the Mandaue City District Hospital. But the Japanese died along the way.
Aside from the travel agency, police learned that Kusaka also had a shop selling bags and a karaoke bar.
Akira Oka, former president of the Japanese Association of Cebu Inc., said in a phone interview that Kusaka was a member of several Japanese associations in Cebu.
“But we are not so familiar with him. But I think the incident will not have a very big impact on the Japanese community because our Japanese countrymen know that Cebu is one of the most peaceful areas in the Philippines,” he said.
Their group has 250 members.
Oka said, though, that the incident may worry Japanese tourists. They may be aware that while Cebu is peaceful, but he said there are also troubles taking place.