In asturias town: Barangay chief, wife shot dead

CEBU, Philippines —  A barangay captain and his wife died after they were shot by unidentified perpetrators along the national highway in Barangay Poblacion, Asturias town yesterday morning.

Mario Delfin Tundag, 57, the barangay captain of Manguiao, Asturias, and his wife Edna Awit Tundag, 49, succumbed to gunshot wounds to different parts of their bodies.

They were riding a Honda PCX motorcycle from Balamban and were on their way home when unidentified suspects onboard a Yamaha scooter, who had been tailing them on, suddenly fired bullets at them, said Police Major Alden Zambrano, chief of Asturias Police Station.

The suspects sped off towards the town of Balamban.

According to Zambrano, among the angles that are now being looked into by the police are politics and personal grudge.

“Wala pa gyud tay motive pero gitan-aw nato tanan anggulo sa trabaho ug personal grudge,” said Zambrano.

In 2016, the barangay captain was arrested after his home was raided on the strength of a search warrant, in which long weapons without licenses were discovered.

Zambrano described the killing of the couple as “very planned.”

This is based on what police saw in the CCTV footages they have obtained.

Meanwhile, the Cebu Police Provincial Office has ordered the Asturias Police Station to coordinate with the Balamban Police Station to fast-track investigation and resolution of the case.

Police Lt. Col. Mark Gifter Sucalit, deputy director for operations of CPPO, said some of the motives they are considering are personal grudge, his job as captain, and the possibility that this murder could be related to the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections this October.

"Gi-interview na sa hepe ang pamilya baka naay mga latest threat sa pamilya,” said Sucalit. – JMD (FREEMAN)