A BODYGUARD of Carmen Mayor Sonia Pua was shot dead while sitting by the road yesterday afternoon.

Nonito Taoy died of multiple gunshot wounds while outside the M1 Security Agency in Barangay Cogon West at 4 p.m.

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Taoy, a retired policeman, worked as a supervisor and inspector for the M1 Security Agency that is reportedly owned by the Puas.

He used to be assigned with the Regional Intelligence Office.

Details of the shooting were sketchy, as Carmen Police Chief Carlos Reyes led a team all the way to Compostela town to pursue the gunmen.

Initially, reports said that four men aboard two motorcycles opened fire at Taoy. He was wounded in the head and other parts of the body.

He was rushed to the nearby Danao City District Hospital but did not make it alive.

Taoy was one of four men allegedly kidnapped during the 2007 elections. The incident was blamed on the camp of Danao City Mayor Ramonito Durano, who denied the allegation.

In an interview last night, Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Jesus Gaquing said it was too early to say if the killing was election-related.

For now, he said, they are focusing on catching the gunmen who were seen heading towards the mountains of Danao City and Compostela.

Gaquing joined the hot pursuit last night, saying the police forces of Danao City, Compostela and Carmen were sent out to different areas in the fifth district.

SPO1 Renerio Masucol, investigator of the Carmen Police Station, said they recovered two empty shells of a .45 pistol and a .38 pistol.

Witnesses said the gunmen didn’t wear helmets or masks. They had on brown jackets and shorts and black T-shirts.

Masucol said they can’t say yet if Taoy’s ties to the Pua family had anything to do with his death.

He said they have to explore all angles, including Taoy’s job at the security agency and his past pursuits as an intelligence officer of the Philippine National Police.

For his part, Carmen Municipal Councilor Antonio Awing, chairman of the council committee on peace and order, urged the town police to give special attention to the case and solve it.

He said that if they cannot do it on their own, they will ask the help of other investigating agencies.

Awing could not say if the case had anything to do with politics although he said this could not be discounted because Taoy was identified with the mayor. But Taoy may have made enemies during his stint as a policeman, he said.

Taoy’s body was taken to the St. Francis Funeral Homes in Danao City. (MEA/With DRT of Superbalita)