Bataan councilman shot dead

BALANGA CITY – A 38-year-old barangay councilman of an upland village of this city was shot dead by three-suspected gunmen wearing bonnets inside a carnival ground while playing a ball game with his son in Barangay Bagong Silang plaza on Friday night.

Superintendent Benjamin Silo Jr., Balanga city police chief, identified the victim as Victorino Alipio who suffered two gunshot wounds on the head, one on his face and one on the chest.The victim died on the spot .

The gunmen reportedly used .45 caliber automatic pistols in the shooting of the councilman while enjoying a ball game with his son, Mark Vincent, in a dimly lighted section of the carnival at about 8:10 p.m.

The victim’s 15-year-old son was unhurt when he was pushed away by the elder Alipio who reportedly sensed danger with the approaching unidentified gunmen about to pull their handguns from their waist.

Before leaving the crime scene , one of the gunmen took the .45 caliber automatic pistol of the victim tucked in his waist and walked casually toward the western part of the plaza as they boarded three black Honda Wave motorcycles parked near a big tree.

The suspects reportedly fled toward the cogonal area, a thickly forested section of the village.

Scene of the crime operatives recovered four empty shells and a deformed slug from a .45 caliber automatic pistol.

Balanga police team led by Inspector Dennis Orbista arrested Juanillo Cordero, a security guard of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company during a follow-up operation when the son of the victim identified him as one of the suspects.

Police are still evaluating the motive of the shooting incident including the alleged participation of the guard in the last local election and other criminal activities. – Raffy Viray