CAMP FLORENDO, La Union – Just two days after his proclamation, re-elected Mayor Philip Velasco of Bacarra, Ilocos Norte was killed along with a town councilor by a lone gunman, who was later shot dead by the mayor’s security aide, turning a town fiesta into a night of chaos last Sunday.
Three others, including a nine-year-old boy, were wounded by stray bullets after the suspect approached Velasco and other provincial officials who won seats in the May 14 elections, then shot the mayor several times inside the municipal auditorium, said Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, regional police chief.
The public officials were among the guests in the coronation program highlighting the celebration of the town’s annual farmers’ festival.
The suspect, who remained unidentified as of yesterday, was fatally shot by a member of Velasco’s close-in security detail as he tried to flee the packed auditorium, police said.
“We’re questioning several witnesses at the scene and looking at all possible motives behind the killing of the mayor, including politics,” Bataoil said.
Newly elected councilor Marcelo Andaya, who was seated near Velasco, died in the attack while provincial board member Shirley Ongpin was hurt, he said.
Bacarra police chief Inspector Dominic Guerrero identified the two other wounded as Josefina Galapon and nine-year-old Ron-Ron Laguban. The injured are now recuperating at the Gov. Roque Ablan Sr. Memorial Hospital.
Velasco’s wife Ma. Concepcion, who was at his side when the gunman attacked, was unhurt.
Velasco was proclaimed only last Friday after beating his uncle Pacifico Velasco and Villamor Rameld. His vice mayor, Nicomedes de la Cruz, will be his immediate successor.
Reports reaching this regional police camp showed that the suspect came up to the victims at around 11 p.m. and started shooting with a cal. 45 pistol.
Velasco was shot on the side of the body and neck and was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital.
Senior Police Officer 1 Romeo Llamelo, local police chief investigator, told The STAR that the suspect could not immediately be named because he did not possess any identifying document.
There was allegedly another suspect who served as backup of the primary gunman, but he was said to have escaped after the shooting.
P03 Carlos Juan, investigator of the Ilocos Norte police office, described the slain gunman as 5’4” tall, of medium-build and about 50 years old with straight hair.
The gunman was said to be from out of town, fueling speculations that he was a hired gun.
Last month, a city mayor in Pangasinan was attacked during a public gathering.
On April 28, San Carlos City Mayor Julian Resuello was shot while shaking hands with his supporters and visitors during a beauty contest highlighting a local fiesta held at the city auditorium.
Resuello later succumbed to the gunshot wounds. He was running for vice mayor, exchanging places with his son, Julier.
Police have reported more than 130 people killed in intense electoral rivalries since the start of the campaign on Jan. 14, compared with 189 deaths in the 2004 presidential election.
But police later lowered the death toll, saying only 41 deaths were found to be politically motivated, national police spokesman Samuel Pagdilao said.
He said police would still need to investigate the latest killings in Ilocos Norte to determine if these were election-related.
Proliferation of unlicensed weapons, private armies hired by politicians and allegations of cheating result in deaths during every election in the country. – Jun Elias, Teddy Molina, Myds Supnad, AP