ORMOC CITY – A barangay councilor was shot dead in broad daylight while escorting his live-in partner on Thursday afternoon, May 28, in Sitio Santa Maria, Brgy. Cabunga-an, Villaba, Leyte.
The victim, identified by police as alias “Ion,” 36 years old, a resident and barangay kagawad of Cabunga-an, was killed by an unidentified gunman.
He was reportedly riding his motorcycle to accompany his live-in partner, who was on a separate motorcycle headed toward the town proper of Villaba.
According to police, a concerned citizen called the station to report the shooting incident. Responding officers arrived to find the victim lying sideways on the road, bleeding from a head wound believed to be caused by gunshots.
Initial investigation revealed that while the couple was en route to the town center, the suspect—riding another motorcycle—approached from behind and fired multiple shots at the victim, fatally hitting him in the head with an unknown caliber of firearm. The assailant fled in an unknown direction after the attack.
The Villaba Municipal Police Station is conducting a thorough investigation and has coordinated with neighboring police units to launch a dragnet operation for the identification and arrest of the suspect.
(ROBERT DEJON)
