Malabon kagawad slain; P.2-M reward up

The city government of Malabon offered a reward of P200,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the suspects in the killing of a barangay kagawad or councilor yesterday.

Dante Sih, 53, councilor of Barangay Panghulo, was shot dead by unidentified assailants for allegedly extorting money from vendors – an allegation denied by his family.

“He won for three consecutive terms, usually getting the first or second spot. He campaigned without tarpaulins. His only investments were his kindness and goodwill to others,” Ris Sih, the victim’s niece, told The STAR.

Probers said they were looking into the veracity of a letter supposedly left by the communist hit group Armadong Rebolusyonaryong Manggagawa at the scene.

The letter, signed by Manuel Salvacion of the Central Luzon operations unit, called Sih “a hoodlum.”

Sih had bought food from the market along Rodriguez street Panghulo and boarded his motorcycle when the suspect approached him and opened fire at around 9 a.m.

Witnesses described the assailant as between 40 and 45 years old and wearing sunglasses.

Maj. Ronald Carlos, chief of the Malabon police investigation division, said the letter could have been left at the scene to confuse investigators.

City police chief Col. Jessie Tamayao said he would formed a task force to probe the killing.

“It’s too early to say if it was politically motivated,” Tamayao said.

Sih is the first councilor to be killed in the city during the campaign period for the midterm elections.

Mayor Antolin Oreta and Vice Mayor Jeannie Sandoval, who are both running for mayor, condemned the killing and called on the authorities to arrest the assailants.

“We call on all sides to refrain from using this incident to fuel political rivalry in the city and to cast doubts on the conduct of fair and honest elections,” Oreta said.