Masbate councilor shot dead

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – A day after a village chief running for vice mayor was killed in Masbate, a councilor was shot dead during a cockfight in Sitio Tambobo, Barangay San Andres in Balud town, police reported yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Heriberto Olitoquit, Masbate police director, said Ladislao Macuba, 63, died on the spot.

Florido Villalobos, 50, a bystander, was hit by a stray bullet but is now in stable condition.

Olitoquit said they are not ruling out politics as a motive for the killing.

“We are not totally discounting politics as motive in this case because the victim’s son is a candidate in the coming elections,” Olitoquit said.

Meanwhile, Olitoquit said they would file charges against the suspects in the killing of vice mayoral candidate Isagani Lopangco based on the victim’s dying declaration.

“Lopangco was able to give us the names of his killers before he died in his hospital bed. We are already preparing charges against the suspects,” Olitoquit said.

“We assure the residents of Masbate that these (killings) are isolated cases because it happened in far-flung areas,” he  added.

Last December, unidentified armed men shot dead a retired police officer, Vicente Aragona, who was running for councilor in Balud town.

Unidentified men also killed Edwin Dalinog Amaro, a barangay chairman in Aroroy town, who was running for councilor.

The Commission on Elections has identified the towns of Mobo, Aroroy,  Cataigan, Claveria, Dimasalang, Milagros, Placer, San Fernando, San Pascual, Baleno, Palanas, Balud and Uson as areas of concern in the May elections.

Nine towns in Masbate are classified under category one due to intense political rivalry in past elections while five were placed under category two due to the presence of New People’s Army rebels.

At least 27 persons were arrested and 34 firearms were confiscated since the election gun ban was enforced in January.