San Fernando village chief shot dead

CEBU, Philippines — A barangay captain in San Fernando town who was arrested in a raid that yielded unlicensed firearms about a year and a half ago was killed by unknown gunmen past 7 p.m. yesterday.

Johnny Arriesgado, 55, the village chief of Barangay Magsico, San Fernando, was driving his multicab along the national highway in Barangay South Poblacion when the unidentified assailants fired shots at him, according to Chief Inspector Lymel Pasquin.

Witnesses told the police that they saw Arriesgado’s vehicle swerving on the road before falling off a bridge near the area after hearing several bursts of gunfire.

As of this writing, police investigators were still collecting evidence from the crime scene. It could not be immediately established whether the victim was killed by riding-in-tandem suspects.

On July 7, 2017, Arriesgado was among the three municipal officials of San Fernando who were arrested in separate raids that led to the confiscation of several unlicensed firearms and packs of suspected shabu.

That time, a team from the Regional Intelligence Division (RID) of the Police Regional Office nabbed councilors Edwin Villaver, Alfonso Donaire IV, and Arriesgado, who is the president of the town’s Association of Barangay Councils and sits as ex-officio council member.

The raids on the houses of the three officials were hatched by virtue of search warrants issued by Regional Trial Court Judge Jerry Dicdican.

Arriesgado was then caught with an unlicensed .45 caliber pistol, a defective.30 caliber pistol, and ammunition inside his house.

His killing yesterday came barely a week after the slay of San Fernando municipal councilor Reneboy Dacalos, 51, who was shot by unknown assailants moments after alighting from his Isuzu D-Max vehicle and while inside the store of his brother-in-law in Barangay South Poblacion.

In March 2018, town councilor Alexander Alicaway was also shot dead by unidentified assailants. — JMD (FREEMAN)