Barangay chairman hurt in Malabon ambush

MANILA, Philippines - A barangay chairman in Malabon City was seriously wounded in an ambush yesterday morning.

Policarpio Ombas, chairman of Barangay Tonsuya, was walking with his bodyguard, Ando Tan, just a few meters away from the police community precinct (PCP) 8 when two men on a motorcycle shot them at 10:30 a.m.

Inspector Joseph Jimenez, PCP 8 commander, said Tan pulled out his gun but failed to fire at the assailants.

Bystanders rushed the victims to the MCU Hospital where they are in serious condition.

Jimenez said they managed to get the license plates of the motorcycle (WGJ-337), which they will verify with the Land Transportation Office.

A police official told The STAR he was informed that a group involved in contract killings was responsible for the attack.

“My informant said that the motive was politics. It could also be possible that people he had a brush with in the past hired the group to liquidate him,” the police official, who asked not to be named, said.

He said the gang was also tagged in the killing of Conrado Cruz, a former councilman of Barangay 12 in Caloocan, in October last year.