By HENRY EMPEÑO | 

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — A prominent businessman was shot to death by a lone gunman here early Wednesday evening, prompting authorities to order a lockdown in the Subic Freeport to flush out the killer.

But the masked assassin who pumped four bullets into the United Auctioneers Inc. (UAI) CEO Dominic Sytin had so far eluded a police dragnet thrown all over the Freeport and neighboring communities.

Police investigators said Sytin and his bodyguard Efren Espartero were about to enter the Lighthouse Marina Resort Hotel in Subic’s busy Central Business District at about 7:30 p.m. on November 28, when an unidentified male suspect fired at close range, shooting Sytin at the back and left part of the head.

Espartero tried to fire back, but the assailant turned on him, too, hitting his right arm and right torso.

A CCTV footage taken at the hotel front reportedly showed a lone assailant firing a final shot at the already prone body of Sytin.

Witnesses in the vicinity later recalled hearing several more shots that sent them scampering for safety.

Police said Sytin died on the spot, his body crumpled at the steps of the hotel when responders arrived. Espartero was brought to the Baypointe Hospital and Medical Center two blocks away where doctors later pronounced him at stable condition.

Business Mirror arrived at the scene half an hour later and counted at least six empty bullet casing strewn on the street in front of the Lighthouse Hotel. Investigators said three other casings were found near the body, all from a .45 caliber pistol.

A report from the Olongapo City Police Office the following morning described the male suspect as 5’8” to 5’9” in height, with medium body build.

The assailant, who was said to be wearing a blue polo shirt on top of a black t-shirt, gray pants, and a red veil covering his face, reportedly fled the scene on board a black Mio sporty motorcycle that headed towards the nearby Kalaklan Gate.

Police have yet to establish a motive for the killing, as of press time.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) immediately condemned the killing, calling it a “dastardly crime” and an apparent “targeted assassination of a business locator in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.”

“This is sad news for us, not only because a prominent businessman who has been a very active member of the Subic Freeport community has fallen prey to violence, but also because one life has been snuffed out just like that,” SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma said in a statement on Wednesday night.

Eisma, who arrived at the crime scene an hour later, said she has ordered a lockdown in the Freeport as soon as she heard the news and directed the SBMA SWAT team to double security at all the gates. She said her orders included the thorough search of all persons and vehicles exiting the Subic Freeport.

The 51-year old Sytin is the president and CEO of what is reputed to be the biggest vehicle auction operation in the country. According to the CEO Magazine, UAI conducted its first auction in Subic in March 1999 and only four years thereafter, gained number one ranking in the business.

Since then, Sytin’s firm has reportedly sold more than 110,000 units of industrial, transport and construction machines to more than 40,000 local and foreign buyers.

On an eerie note, Sytin’s death recalled the killing of another vehicle trader here some 12 years ago.

News reports indicate that Uldarico Tubig, who was into importation of used vehicles, was shot dead by one of five assailants, as he was about to board his car at Boton Highway here at about 7:00 p.m. on June 23, 2006.

His security aide, Rommel Pineda, was also killed when he traded fire with the suspects.