TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines – A second attempt on the life of a 71-year-old government retiree from Ilocos Sur succeeded after he was gunned down by motorcycle-riding men in Bantay town yesterday.
Police said the victim, Jaime Bueza, a former member of the Joint Legislative-Executive Tax Commission, and his wife were on their way home after attending an affair at St. Paul College of Ilocos Sur when they were ambushed.
Bueza’s wife survived the attack.
Police said Bueza survived a similar attempt on his life in the same place in Barangay Paing, Bantay town in January 2011. He sustained several bullet wounds but his 19-year-old granddaughter Alyza Marie Soria, a student St. Paul College, was killed.
Two suspects have been charged in the first attack, a certain Jerry Corpuz and Pablito Busto, but both are still at large.
Politics is seen as one of the possible motives in the attacks against Bueza, although police said these could be linked to a supposed shooting incident involving him.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government has placed Ilocos Sur in its watch list of 15 provinces where violence could occur in the run-up to the 2013 midterm polls.