What we know so far: Killing of pool patron Perry Mariano

MANILA, Philippines – Businessman Ceferino “Perry” Mariano, a key figure in Philippine billiards who backed several top Filipino champions, died on Tuesday, April 28. He was killed in broad daylight.

Mariano, 75, and his 51-year-old driver Norberto Orimaco were gunned down along Timog Avenue in Quezon City by two assailants riding a motorcycle.

Brazen shooting

A video obtained by the Quezon City Police District showed two men on a motorcycle stopping beside a white hatchback with Mariano and Orimaco in it, the pillion rider firing shots before he and his companion sped off towards EDSA. 

QCPD Police Station 10 commander Zachary Capellan said the incident happened at approximately 3:40 pm in front of the GMA Network Center. 

Mariano and Orimaco were brought to nearby East Avenue Medical Center but died the same day after both sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Orimaco died past 4 pm, while Mariano died past 6 pm.

CCTV footage showed the suspects abandoning their getaway motorcycle — a Yamaha Mio 125 — on a sidewalk along Scout Rallos Street and changed clothes there.

The suspects, Capellan said, then fled on foot, walking along Scout Ybardolaza Street, Timog Avenue, Scout Torillo Street, and Scout Borromeo Street, where they boarded a tricycle en route to a Mercury Drug branch along Quezon Avenue. From there, they took a passenger jeepney.

Given the fact that Mariano, a former president of the Association of Club, Karaoke, Disco Owners Operators, owned multiple establishments, Capellan said the police is considering the incident as a business-related crime. 

The QCPD recovered the Yamaha Mio 125 with a plate bearing MV File Number 1303-0900433. Capellan said the suspects forged the plate and copied the MV file number that is registered to a Honda Click, whose owner came forward to the police. 

Latent fingerprints were lifted by the forensics team from the side mirrors of the motorcycle and the helmets and magazine the suspects used. 

Capellan said the QCPD has launched a manhunt operation and created a special investigation team. 

Well-loved boss

Mariano was the man behind Bugsy Promotions, which supported the training and development of several top Filipino pool players, including world champions Dennis Orcollo, Carlo Biado, and Ronnie Alcano. 

The Bugsy Promotions stable also included Johann Chua, Anton Raga, Roberto Gomez, and even Taiwanese stars Ko Pin-yi and Ko Ping-chung. 

“I love you so much. You stood as my father. You shaped me and believed in my abilities,” Orcollo, the 2011 eight-ball world champion, wrote on Facebook in Filipino in one of his tributes to Mariano. “You were so kind to me. You gave me a home in Manila. I’ll never forget you, boss.” 

Biado, a two-time nine-ball world titlist (2017 and 2025) and a 10-ball world winner (2024), shares the same feelings as Orcollo. 

“You are one of the reasons I am where I am today. You shaped me. Thank you so much for everything, boss — for believing in my abilities when I was just starting out. I’ll never forget you, boss,” said Biado.

Chua also credited Mariano for paving the way for him when he was just a teenager trying to make it big in pool. 

“You were the first person who believed that I can win an international tournament. You sent me to Indonesia in 2008 for a tournament. Even though I was only 16 years old, you trusted that I can do it,” said Chua. 

Mariano, in an interview less than three months before his death, said he sought to give his players better lives, with most of them coming from poverty.

“I want to see my players, those I helped, living good lives,” said Mariano. 

Mariano passed his passion for pool to his son Hadley, the founder of Sharks Billiards Association, a professional nine-ball league in the country. 

“To many, he was a pillar of Philippine billiards. To me, he was simply Dad,” Hadley wrote. 

“He gave his whole life to the game and to the people in it. For generations, he stood behind the players, creating opportunities, opening doors, and helping shape the path of so many Pinoy bilyaristas. The game we know today carries so much of him.” 

“This loss cuts so deep, but I know it is shared by the community he cared for and helped build.” 

Mariano’s remains will be cremated on Sunday, May 3. – Rappler.com