Agusan vice mayor’s supporter shot dead

SANTIAGO, Agusan del Norte — A community organizer of a mayoral candidate here was gunned down the other day, prompting the townsfolk to call on the police to go after armed groups believed being coddled by politicians.

The victim, Lupecino Madria, 57, was found dead with three gunshot wounds near his house in Barangay Poblacion 1.

Madria, police said, was a follower of Vice Mayor Rodelio Montil who is running for mayor against Franklin Lim, husband of incumbent Mayor Zenaida Lim.

Madria’s neighbor Jerome Ramos claimed having heard six gunshots coming from the place where the victim’s body was found.

Residents fear that more violence will erupt here if law enforcers fail to neutralize armed groups which politicians may be coddling. — Ben Serrano