CALBAYOG CITY, May 20 (PNA) – A village chief and a councilor in this city were gunned down by unidentified gunmen Wednesday morning inside the village hall.
The victims were identified as Rio Merencillo Lebario, 45, Dagum village chief and Dionesio Tarrayo Lungsod, 55 , councilor of the same village.
The victims were attending a meeting of the River Control Auxiliary Group at the second floor of the Dagum village hall around 10:40 a.m. when two unidentified armed men entered and suddenly shot Lebario.
In an interview, village secretary Elma Pampanga who was sitting next to Lebario said that two men suddenly entered the hall and fatally shot the village chief.
Pampanga recalled that Lungsod attempted to escape, but the gunmen followed him and shot him to death.
She added that the suspects did not cover their faces, but she could not remember how they look like because she was on panic.
Crime Scene Investigator, Sr. Police Officer 3 Inocentes Laure said the victims sustained multiple gun shot wounds in their head and chest.
Initial investigation revealed that aside from the two unidentified armed men who entered the session hall at the second floor, another one stayed downstairs and served as look out.
The suspects fled on board a single motorcycle as their getaway vehicle.
The police is now conducting a follow up investigation with those present during the incident to help them identify the suspects.
The police regional public safety battalion and the Calbayog City police office launched a hot pursuit operation.
Calbayog police chief Supt. Marben Ordoña said in an interview that as of now they don’t have any lead yet on the incident
He added that they were looking into all angles as to the motives of the killing.
The local police has stepped up their operations as they appealed for the support of the community in providing any information that will help identify perpetrators.
Calbayog PNP has recorded a total of 15 shooting incidents since January this year.
Meanwhile, Mayor Ronaldo Aquino, who was on official leave when the incidents happened, assured that he would issue an official statement regarding the incident. (PNA)
RMA/SQM/JENNIFER S. ALLEGADO
