Thursday, December 20, 2007
Barangay councilman shot dead
A COUNCILMAN in the mountain barangay of Lapay, Argao, Cebu was shot and killed Tuesday night outside his house.
Buenaventura Lanticse died of a gunshot wound in the left portion of his chest. He was taken to Isidro C. Kintanar Hospital but was declared dead before doctors could attend to him.
Buenaventura, 43, won as the first councilman of Lapay, some seven kilometers away from the town proper, during the youth and barangay elections last Oct. 29. He ran as an independent candidate.
He left behind three children, with the youngest still nine years old, with wife Rebecca.
Investigators from Argao Police Station, under the command of Senior Insp. Teodulfo Manatad III, are still determining the motive of the attack.
Buenaventura’s widow, Rebecca, told radio dyLA that she believes envy over their copra and abaca fiber business was behind the killing.
Rebecca said she is 90 percent sure about it, and that the possibility that Buenaventura was killed because of politics was slim.
SPO1 Arnold Abenir, an Argao police investigator, told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday the incident occurred past 9 p.m. while Buenaventura was outside his house near a water reservoir.
Buenaventura was trying to find a spot where he could get a signal for his cellular phone.
No one has so far claimed to have witnessed the incident.
Rebecca, who was inside the house, reportedly heard two gunshots, prompting her to rush outside. She saw her husband sprawled on the ground.
The police team found one slug from an undetermined caliber, which will be submitted to the Police Regional Office 7 Crime Laboratory for examination.
Abenir said he already has initial information from Rebecca that would help them find a lead to identify who may be behind the killing and his or her motive. Rebecca is expected to go back to the police station today to issue her statement.
Abenir said that based on initial information he gathered, the killing appeared to be business-related.
Although political rivalry is a remote possibility, Abenir said they are not discounting this angle. (JST)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (December 20, 2007 issue)
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