Another Masbate councilor bet slain

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Another candidate for councilor was shot dead in Masbate at around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, police reported yesterday.

Superintendent Renato Bataller, Bicol police spokesman, said Vicente Aragona, a retired police chief inspector and candidate for councilor in Balud town, was shot by three men near his residence in Barangay Tonga.

“The victim suffered fatal gunshot wounds in different part of the body and died on the spot,” Bataller told The STAR.

A week ago, a barangay captain running for councilor in Aroroy, Masbate was shot dead by unidentified men near his house.

Masbate Gov. Rizalina Seachon Lanete is reportedly calling an emergency meeting of the provincial peace and order council next week to assess the peace and order situation in the province amid recent killings involving candidates.

Lanete also asked the police to intensify their campaign against loose firearms.

Masbate is perennially tagged as among the election hotspots.