Village chief dies in Iloilo ambush

A barangay chairman was killed after riding-in-tandem gunmen sprayed bullets on him Thursday morning in Lambunao town of Iloilo.

Raul Ganadillo, 51, of Barangay Pandan in Lambunao, sustained gunshot wounds on his back and was declared dead on arrival at the Ricardo Ladrido Memorial District Hospital, also in that town.

Chief Inspector Elmer Armada, Lambunao Police chief, said Ganadillo was driving an owner-type jeepney from the town proper on his way home when the assailants, who were tailing him, came up and fired shots at him.

The wounded Ganadillo lost control of his jeep that crashed into a mahogany tree by the roadside. The gunmen immediately sped off to the direction of Calinog town.

Police investigators have yet to rule the motive of the killing, but the victim's wife revealed that her husband had been receiving death threats lately.

Armada said invesigators were looking at three angles behind the killing: Politics, a case Ganadillo filed against a barangay councilman, and the growing quarry operations in the village that the victim was trying to contain.

Following the incident, police held two persons in custody: Crisanto Caro, 25, of Barangay Poblacion Rizal Ilaya in Calinog, and cousin-in-law, 28-yearold Joey Miranda.

Both were invited for questioning after three witnesses gave descriptions of the getaway vehicle used by Ganadillo’s assailants. “They were repainting the motorcycle when police came to invite them to the station," said Armada.

Caro and Miranda however denied any knowledge on Ganadillo’s killing. Caro claimed the repainting was not in any way done to conceal the motorcycle’s color but to make use of an excess paint they had.

Armada was however not about to buy Caro’s alibi, saying the latter had been involved in robbery cases before.

Caro was jailed more than a year ago at the Iloilo Provincial Jail and at Passi City Jail for robbery charges, added Armada.