Surveillance footage shows the taxi driven by 47-year-old Johnny Burdas with its hazard lights turned on. Burdas was later found dead, with gunshot wounds, inside the same vehicle in Brgy. Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City on July 2, 2025. | Screengrab from CCTV footage
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — A person of interest (POI) has been identified on the killing on Wednesday morning, July 2, 2025, of a 47-year-old taxi driver on a vacant lot in Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Christian Torres, spokesperson of Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LCPO), however, said that they were not yet one hundred percent sure if the POI really did the crime.
Based on the testimony of a witness, Torres said that the POI was seen running near the crime scene after the taxi driver was killed in the area.
READ: Family of slain taxi driver in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu calls for justice
“Ang istorya gahapon sa imbestigador nga naa silay POI nga ilang gi-hot pursuit,” Torres said.
(The story from the investigator yesterday was hta they already have a POI that were the subject of a hot-pursuit operation.)
“Pero dili pa ta kaseguro kay after adtong mga orasa nga dunay nagbuto-buto, naay nakakita nga kini nga suspek, naay naka-identify nga nagdagan didto sa lugar,” Torres said.
(But we cannot be sure yet because after that time when there were shots fired, somebody saw the ‘suspect,’ somebody recognized the person running away from the area.)
Torres described the POI as a known thief in the area.
READ: Taxi driver found dead with gunshot wounds in Lapu-Lapu City
Torres, however, refused to reveal the identity of the POI since they were still conducting a hot-pursuit operation against him.
On Wednesday morning, the victim, taxi driver Johnny Burdas, 47, a resident of Barangay Bankal in Lapu-Lapu City, was found dead inside his cab with gunshot wounds in his body.
Authorities recovered two fired cartridges in the crime scene, while a hole was seen on the window of the driver side of the taxi unit, indicating a gunshot mark.
Torres said that robbery was the possible motive of the crime since the victim’s cellphone and wallet were missing.
READ: Volunteer taxi drivers help catch colorum taxis, overcharging cabbies
(That is the angle that we are looking into, sir, considering that the victim’s cellphone and earnings were missing.)
“Pero dili gihapon nato i-discount ang laing possibilities kay basin naay personal grudge unya aron maguba ang imbestigasyon gikuha lang ang cellphone ug ang kwarta aron mahug nga naay robbery,” he said.
(But we still could not discount other possibilities because, perhaps, there was a personal grudge and to mislead the investigation, his cellphone and money were taken so that it would look like a robbery.)