Political leader in Leyte shot dead by nine men

CEBU, Philippines - A political leader in the 3rd district of Leyte province was gunned down Thursday afternoon by nine unidentified men at Sitio Patong of Barangay Consuegra in Leyte town.

The victim, 57-year-old Chan Delantar, was conducting a house-to-house campaign for an independent candidate for Congress when the assailants came and shot him dead. He sustained five gunshot wounds on different parts of his body.

Delantar was one of the political leaders of congressional candidate Ching Veloso, a former Court of Appeals justice, who is running against incumbent Leyte Mayor Ma. Victoria “Tingting” Salvacion David, popularly known in her campaign tarpaulins as Mylene Salvacion, and daughter of mayoralty bet, Representative Andy Salvacion.

Investigation showed that Delantar was an owner of vast lands in Leyte town, but Senior Superintendent Franco Simborio, director of the Leyte Police Provincial Office, refused to confirm at this time that that incident was election-related.

The investigation was not yet completed, Simborio said, and that the police did not discount the possibility that the New People’s Army could be behind the killing, considering the number of the assailants. “The manner of killing seemed to be that of the communist rebels,” he said.

Simborio meanwhile said 174 policemen have been deployed to the towns of Leyte, Albuera, San Isidro and Calubian to augment the police in these places, which are now declared as areas of immediate concern, in relation to the May 9 elections. (FREEMAN)