Brgy chair candidate, his father shot dead

TACLOBAN CITY — A candidate for barangay chairman of Catabunan at Oquendo district of Calbayog City in Samar, and his father were killed in an ambush Thursday afternoon by three men, who were masked with bonnets.

Calbayog City Police identified the slain candidate as Christopher Braguela, 39, and his father Melanio, 56, who died on the spot from gunshot wounds after the assailants on motocycle fired shots at the two, about 15 kilometers from Oquendo.

A backrider of the victims, 60-year-old Juanito Arneo escaped unscathed however and quickly left the crime scene.

A Calbayog Police investigator, who asked not to be identified, said at least 25 empty shells of bullets were recovered from the scene. He said the police already have a lead, but “we still need testimonies from witnesses for identification of the attackers.

Three weeks ago, two men — Julio Aledanio of Brgy. Himamaloto and Jeffrey Cajuban of Brgy. San Francisco, both in Gandara town of Samar — were separately killed as they were about to file their COCs.

Gandara and Calbayog City are in first district of Samar and identified as election areas of immediate concern in the past elections due to killings of barangay officials and supporters.

Comelec-8 Regional Director Jose Nick Mendros said his office has yet to identify election hot spots area in the region. "We still have to finalize our data on April 30 during the command conference with the PNP and the military," he said.

Calbayog City Mayor Ronald Aquino last week said some of his barangay chairpersons have been worried about possible violence in the coming barangay elections, and that some were hesitant to file their COCs for fear of their lives.

"Karamihan sa kanila ay pinupuntahan sa kanilang bahay pag gabi by armed men and they are being threatened, I am hoping that our elections will be peaceful like in the 2016 national elections," Aquino told The FREEMAN.