Dinagat councilor shot dead

SURIGAO CITY -- Ridingin-tandem gunmen shot dead a member of the Provincial Board member of Dinagat Islands Sunday morning here, police said.

Police identified the victim as Provincial Board Member Wenefredo R. Olofernes, 52, who was on a motorcycle with his unnamed live-in

partner along a national road here when the gunmen’s black Honda motorcycle overtook them and shot the victim.

A police report said Olofernes, a second-term provincial lawmaker, succumbed to a lone bullet wound on the head.

He was brought to the Caraga Regional Hospital located barely a kilometer away from the crime scene but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.

Maj. Tessiel R. Moleta of the Surigao City Police Station said they immediately conducted a hot pursuit operation “for identification and arrest” of the suspects.

Moleta said Brig. Gen. Gilbert DC Cruz, Police Regional Office-13 director, has offered a reward of PHP50,000 to anyone who can lead to the identification and arrest of the suspects.

Dinagat Islands Gov. Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao immediately condemned the killing and called for justice.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the brutal killing of Sangguniang Panlalawigan Board Member Wenefredo Olofernes,” Bagao said in a statement released hours after the incident.

“We will ensure the speedy resolution of this criminal act along with the prosecution and conviction of all those involved in the death of Board Member Wenefredo Olofernes,” the governor added.

According to the governor, Olofernes ran as an independent and emerged on top of the race in the 1st District with 13,141 votes from the municipalities of Basilisa, Libjo, Loreto, and Tubajon.”

“We are in contact with the Philippine National Police in Surigao City and the Caraga Region in order to provide any assistance in the investigation and to put into the light all the facts surrounding this incident,” Bag-ao said.