Ex-Batangas mayor’s aide gunned down

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines – A bodyguard of a former Batangas town mayor was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding men in Barangay Balakilong, Laurel Saturday afternoon.

Reynaldo Escano died at the scene from five gunshot wounds in the body, said Senior Inspector Simeon Aldovino, Laurel town police chief.

Escano, who was a security escort of former Laurel mayor Natalio Panganiban, was waiting for a ride when the assailants shot him at around 1:30 p.m.

Aldovino said among the motives being investigated are personal grudge and vendetta.

He said Escano had not been seen in Laurel town after his boss lost in the May elections. The victim was in town on Saturday, supposedly to visit a local cemetery.

Aldovino said probers were trying to secure footage taken by a closed-circuit television camera installed near the crime scene.