Ex-Bulacan councilor gets bullets for breakfast

MANILA, Philippines - A former town councilor of Bulacan, Bulacan was shot dead by a man believed to be a hired killer while having breakfast at a fastfood restaurant in Quezon City yesterday.

Inspector Norman Cristobal, Quezon City Station 10 investigation unit chief, identified the victim as Jose Vladimir Lava, 40, a resident of Barangay San Jose in Bulacan town.

Cristobal said Lava sustained four gunshot wounds in the back and died at around 11 a.m. while being treated at the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC).

The motive for the killing is yet to be established, Cristobal said.

Records showed the ambush happened at around 7 a.m. at a restaurant at the corner of Tomas Morato Avenue and Scout de Guia street in Barangay Laging Handa.

PO3 Joel Sanchez said Lava was having breakfast with nephew Crisanto de la Peña in the restaurant when a gunman used a .45 caliber pistol to shoot the victim from outside, through the restaurant’s glass wall.

Witnesses said the attacker walked away from the scene towards Scout de Guia street, where a companion waited on a Honda XRM motorcycle, and they sped away towards Chuatoco street.

De la Peña sought help from barangay officials and took the victim to nearby Delgado Hospital. Lava was later transferred to SLMC.

Initial investigation revealed that prior to the incident, Lava was waiting for his uncle, lawyer Francisco Lava, allegedly to visit a relative at an undisclosed hospital.

The case has been turned over to Chief Inspector Benjamin Elenzano Jr., chief of the Quezon City police’s criminal investigation and detection unit, for disposition.