Samar village exec slain

CATBALOGAN CITY, Philippines – Only four days since the fatal shooting of a former village chief here, a barangay councilman was gunned down Thursday night, raising questions among residents of how safe the city is in the run-up to the barangay elections.

Police said the victim, Narciso Lagbo, 45, a first-term councilman of Barangay Tagbayaon in Jiabong town, located about nine kilometers from this city, was to fetch his wife working at a restaurant along San Roque Street here when he was shot at around 6:20 p.m. Thursday.

Lagbo sustained three bullet wounds in the nape, abdomen and waist. 

Witnesses said the gunmen casually walked away from the crime scene and fled toward the city market.

Police recovered two empty .45-caliber shells, two empty 9-mm shells and two slugs from the same handguns.

Last Sunday, former village chief Felomino Cabarriban, 46, was also gunned down by two men in a cockpit arena in Barangay Lagundi here.

Several empty shells of 9-mm and .45 caliber were found at the crime scene.

In a statement, Catbalogan City Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan appealed to the police to step up measures to curb such crimes.

“The two shooting incidents in our city that led to the killing of two political personalities in a span of four days are alarming,” she said.

“In our city peace and order council meeting conducted morning of Thursday, sadly the same date of the second shooting incident… I reiterated my call to the city’s chief of police to improve police efforts to ensure peace and order,” she added.

The mayor appealed “for everybody’s vigilance and cooperation in determining the reasons behind the killings and (their) perpetrators... Let us not allow violence to rule over our beloved city. Let us, at all times, protect our peaceful abode against criminal elements who are trying to wreak havoc on our society and demoralize our people.”

Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria, Region 8 police director, said the two incidents would not affect the conduct of peaceful barangay elections in Catbalogan and in the entire Samar province. – Ricky Bautista, Rommel Rutor/Freeman

“Pending the results of the investigation, thorough assessment and the establishment of the motive, we cannot consider these yet as election-related incidents,” Soria said.