Couple in money lending slain in shooting in Cotabato town

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Unidentified gunmen riding on a motorcycle shot dead on Sunday a couple who was believed engaged in money lending business in Kabacan, North Cotabato.Chief Inspector Bryan Placer, chief of Kabacan PNP, identified the victims as Earl John Dulay Nimer and wife, Norhaina, both residents of Barangay Osias, Kabacan.Senior Inspector Maxim Peralta, investigator-on-case, said the couple was onboard an orange Honda Wave motorcycle with license plate number MC 92435 when the gunmen, also onboard another motorcycle, pumped bullets into their bodies, along Sitio Lumayong in Barangay Kayaga.Norhaina died immediately after she was hit on her head, while Earl John was still breathing when bystanders rushed him to the nearest hospital.Minutes later, though, he expired, according to Peralta.Peralta added the couple has just come from Carmen town where they collected loan payments from their clients.The gunmen, after executing their plan, sped towards Pagalungan, Maguindanao.Police consider the couple’s business as one of the motives for the killing.The couple has been engaged in lending money with 10 to 20 percent monthly interests since 2015.