Village Chief, Watchman Shot Dead in Cebu
Just five days after the start of the election gun ban, a barangay chairman and a tanod (watchman) who served as informant to the police, were gunned down by unknown assailants in separate incidents in the southern district of Cebu province, the police reported on Thursday.
Senior Supt. Manuel Abrugena, Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) Director, identified the first fatality as Johnny Arriesgado, chairman of Barangay Magsico in San Fernando town.
Arriesgado, who also served as former ex-officio member of the town’s Sangguniang Bayan, being a former president of the Association of Barangay Councils, was driving his brown multicab in Barangay Poblacion towards Cebu City when unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle fired at him.
Police Officer 1 Aldrin Gogo, San Fernando Police Station desk officer, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that Arriesgado suffered several gunshot wounds and died upon arrival at a nearby hospital.
In a separate incident, barangay tanod Lyndie Belila was shot by an unknown assailant while driving his motorcycle along Sitio Kimba, Barangay San Roque, in Talisay City.
Talisay Police chief Marlou Conag said Belila suffered several gunshot wounds in his body. Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) personnel recovered 15 empty shells of 5.56 caliber for an M16 rifle, and several 9-mm empty shells from the crime scene. A .45-caliber pistol was recovered from Belila’s waist.
According to Conag, the barangay tanod was a reliable informant of the police which led to the arrest of several drug personalities.
Because of the two incidents, police chiefs in Cebu province met on Thursday with Abrugena in a special command conference. (PNA)
