Gunmen shoot dead village exec in La Union

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Another village official was killed by motorcycle-riding assassins Tuesday afternoon in San Fernando City, La Union’s capital town.

There are now more than a dozen victims of supposed assassins in the province, tagged by authorities as one of the 15 “areas of immediate concern” around the country where killers are “shooting their victims like ducks or chickens”.

Carlos Balanon, a councilman in Barangay Burayoc, Bacnotan town, was gunned down by two still unidentified killers aboard a motorcycle at around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Barangay Bangcusay, in the capital city.

The victim died from a single gunshot wound in the head, said police who have yet to determine the motive behind the killing.

On Monday night, two victims were also felled by assassins at a bingo parlor in Barangay Victoria in Luna town, also in La Union.

Numerous victims of killings by supposed “riding-in-tandem assassins” have been recorded in La Union since last year.