By Xander Ledesma
A 21-year-old man was shot dead in the early hours of Sunday, November 10, 2024, outside a fast-food restaurant along General Maxilom Avenue in Cebu City. The victim, John Mike Semblante, a resident of Barangay Tipolo, Mandaue City, was returning home from a night out with friends when he was attacked by an unidentified assailant.
According to police reports, Semblante and his friends had been drinking at the Uptown Club Mango in Barangay Kamputhaw. Around 2:45 a.m., they decided to leave, with Semblante riding as a passenger on a friend’s motorcycle. As they waited at a red light in front of a Jollibee restaurant, a man stepped out of a green minivan, approached the motorcycle, and shot Semblante in the left abdomen. The assailant then returned to the vehicle and sped away.
Emergency medical responders from Barangay Kamputhaw arrived promptly and rushed Semblante to Cebu City Medical Center. However, he was pronounced dead at 3:35 a.m.
Police from Abellana Police Station 2 are currently investigating, with officers reviewing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the area in an effort to track the suspect’s vehicle and establish a possible motive. A bullet casing was recovered at the scene, which investigators from the Cebu City Forensic Unit are analyzing as part of their ongoing investigation.
The victim’s mother, who visited the mortuary where her son’s body was taken, expressed her grief, describing her son as a “good person” with no known enemies. She acknowledged that he had previously served time for involvement in illegal drug sales but said he had turned his life around after his release. She is now calling for justice and urging authorities to bring the perpetrator to account.