Batangas council bet gunned down

BATANGAS — A candidate for councilor in Talisay town here was shot dead yesterday in the latest case of violence believed connected to the May 10 general elections, the military said.

Venancio Centeno, a candidate who ran under the banner of the Liberal Party, was gunned down by two men riding a motorcycle shortly after dawn, Lt. Gen. Alfonso Dagudag, regional military chief, said, adding that the killing was most likely politically motivated.

The 50-year-old Centeno, a resident of Barangay Quiling in Talisay, was the president of the Talisay-Tanauan Jeepney Transport Group and a partymate of incumbent Mayor Florencio Manimtim.

According to the police report, Centeno had just finished a bowl of lugaw (congee) at an eatery across the street from his house and was about to reach for a glass of water at the counter when the gunman approached him from behind and shot him pointblank several times.

Witnesses said the gunman escaped with a companion who was waiting outside the eatery, aboard a red motorcycle and sped off toward Tanauan City.

Centeno suffered four gunshot wounds in the back and died on arrival at the St. Andrew Hospital in Barangay Tumaway.

Police recovered five spent shells from a caliber .45 pistol and two deformed slugs from the crime scene.

Manimtim said in an interview that the shooting can be considered politically motivated since Centeno refused a rival camp’s efforts to persuade him to withdraw his candidacy.

However, Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, Batangas police director, said police ruled out politics as the motive behind the killing after several witnesses were able to identify the gunman, who reportedly had a long-running feud with Centeno.

Magtibay did not elaborate, pending the gunman’s arrest.

Police say that since December, there have been at least 43 election-related incidents of violence which have left six local officials and nearly 40 other civilians dead.

More than 17,000 local posts are up for grabs in the May 10 polls.— With Jaime Laude and AFP