Party-list nominee dies from gunshot wounds

A Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) officer and a nominee of party-list group Abay-Parak died last night after an unidentified gunman shot him last Saturday.

BFP Inspector Virgilio Acabal died at the Far Eastern University Hospital in Fairview, Quezon City while doctors tried to save him.

Police investigators reported that at 1 p.m. on June 2, an assailant barged into Acabal’s house in Batasan Hills, Quezon City and repeatedly shot him with a .22 caliber pistol fitted with a silencer in front of his wife, Marivic.

Witnesses said the assassin had an accomplice who acted as a lookout outside Acabal’s house. They escaped on a motorcycle.Acabal, who was immediately brought to the hospital after the incident, still managed to survive for two more days despite the four bullets lodged in his brain and two in his body before he expired at around 9 p.m. last night while undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Acabal is survived by Marivic and their two children. Quezon City Police District Chief Senior Inspector Magtanggol Gatdula vowed to track down the suspects, saying that his men are already pursuing a lead in the case.The police are also set to produce sketches of the two suspects based on witnesses’ accounts.Acabal was also active in an anti-crime group, Ever Asia Guardians Intl. (EAGLE), and served as vice chairman for its Philippine chapter.

Meanwhile, EAGLE International chairman and journalist Joel Sy-Egco called for justice as he urged authorities to “do the best they can” for the speedy resolution of the killing.      – Karlo Baylosis