A village chief was shot dead on Tuesday in San Rafael town, the first election-related violence reported since the filing of candidacy started in Bulacan while a village councilor and seven other were arrested on Wednesday morning for drug use in Meycauayan City.
Senior Supt. Romeo Caramat Jr., Bulacan police director, identified the slain village chief as Barangay Captain Rodrigo Rodriguez, incumbent and third termer barangay chairman of Mabalasbalas in the said town.
The victim was standing to buy in a store when unidentified armed motorcycle-riding in tandem suspects shot him six times in the different parts of his body.
The victim was rushed by witnesses to the Rugay Hospital in Baliwag town where he died while undergoing medical treatment.
As this developed, Chief Supt. Amador Corpus, regional police director for Central Luzon, appeals to the general public to help the police gather information that may lead to the quick solution of the killing of the barangay official.
The police is “tripling if not doubling our efforts to deter the occurrence of the same incident as we vow for a safe and secure barangay and sanguniang kabataan elections” this coming month of May.
Meanwhile, an incumbent barangay councilor in Meycauayan City together with seven others were arrested during a pot session in the said city.
Caramat identified the barangay official as Janet Oñate, who is also running for another term as barangay kagawad in Tugatog, Meycauayan City in the coming barangay and SK elections.
Police operatives caught Oñate together with seven others holding a pot session in a shanty in Barangay Banga and confiscated from them three plastic sachets of suspected shabu with a street value of P1,000.00 and drug paraphernalia.
“As we are gearing up for the 2018 Barangay and SK Elections, we are very stern in our war on illegal drugs, we are conducting close monitoring on not just our drug target list, [but] even those who are reportedly involved in illegal drugs activities,” Corpus noted. –ELOISA SILVERIO