Cops closing in on killers of Caraga town treasurer

TUBAY, Agusan del Norte — Police are closing in on the mastermind and three hired assassins of the municipal treasurer of Tubay town who was gunned down Friday night.

Chief Superintendent Antonio Dator Nañas, Caraga police director, said artist’s sketches of the three hired guns will be distributed soon after eyewitnesses have given their descriptions to police investigators.

Nanas said the guns-for-hire, who reportedly hail from Santiago town, were seen roaming around the commercial district of Cabadbaran town minutes before Tubay municipal treasurer Noli Morta Bucong, 44, was shot.

Nanas said two of them acted as lookouts while the third, who covered his face with a shirt, was the triggerman. 

"We are close to identifying the (killers) and their mastermind. However, for security reasons, we cannot divulged yet any information on them until we make arrests," he said. 

Nañas said his men were still determining the motive behind Bucong’s killing, adding though that personal grudges, including his supposed rift with a municipal councilor, and business rivalries in small-scale gold mining, trading and logging were being eyed.

Three local officials told The STAR that Bucong could have made many enemies because of his non-nonsense attitude. 

"He (Bucong) was a strict and tough guy who feared nobody," one of them said. 

Bucong was shot dead in the crowded commercial district in Barangay 8, near the public market of Cabadbaran, the capital town, at about 7:19 p.m. Friday. 

Bucong was about to ride his car parked in the commercial district when he was shot thrice — two in the hips, and one in the chest — with a caliber .45 pistol.

Besides his job in the town hall, Bucong was also a businessman. His is survived by his wife, a public school teacher, and three children.

Senior Superintendent Jerome Pagaragan, Agusan del Norte police director, said the Cabadbaran police was still gathering evidence and the statements of witnesses.

Last month, a provincial government employee was stabbed dead also in the Cabadbaran commercial district.