Masbate barangay councilman shot dead

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – A barangay councilman in Masbate, one of the perennial poll hot spots in the country, was shot dead Tuesday night while accompanying a group of teachers bringing election paraphernalia to a far-flung village, reports reaching Camp General Simeon Ola here said.

Superintendent Tomas Semeniano, Masbate police director, said unidentified men shot Ronald Ariola, a councilman of Barangay Mapili in Balud town, while he was escorting the teachers to the village.

Balloting was not held as scheduled last Monday in a number of barangays in Balud as well as in Uson town due to the delay in the delivery of the election paraphernalia.

Semeniano said they have yet to determine whether the killing at the boundary of Barangays Mapili and Ilaya was politically motivated.

The attack forced members of the board of election tellers to scamper in different directions. They were able to deliver the poll materials to Barangay Mapili at around 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Maj. Harold Cabunoc, spokesman of the Army’s 9th Infantry Division based in Pili, Camarines Sur, said Ariola’s attackers first stabbed him before gunning him down.

A team of the 93rd Army Reconnaisance Company, along with the Balud police, retrieved Ariola’s body from the crime scene a few hours later.

Last Monday, two brothers of a re-electionist barangay chairman and a rival’s supporter were killed when at least six men riddled them with bullets while they were walking in Barangay Gilotong in Cawayan, Masbate.

Slain were Bienvenido and Tranquilin Malagad, brothers of re-electionist Gilotong village chief Jeffrey Malaga, while their cousin Jekyll sustained a gunshot wound in the left knee.

Reports said the three were on their way to visit their brother Jeffrey when they were waylaid by suspected supporters of rival candidates in Barangay Gilotongan.

A certain Miguel Daligdig, a supporter of Malagad’s rival bet Gelyn Bacolod, was stabbed and hacked to death by one of the slain Malagad brothers. – With Celso Amo and Alexis Romero