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Thursday, September 23, 2004
Gunmen shoot dead Mexico barangay head
By Albert B. Lacanlale
MEXICO -- Suspected members of the New People's Army (NPA) gunned down in broad daylight Wednesday the barangay head of Cayawan in the town of Mexico in Pampanga.
Johnson "Don-don" Briones, a first-term barangay leader, was 36. Unidentified assassins shot him dead at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Mexico Mayor Teddy C. Tumang condemned "in the strongest sense" the killing of Briones.
The attack on Briones was just one of several killings victimizing barangay officials in the province.
Police investigation showed that Briones and 20 other barangay residents were about to build an earth dike along a portion of the Abacan River for irrigation for their farms when the three assailants, their faces covered with scarves, approached.
One of the assailants carrying a short firearm opened fire at Briones from about three to four feet, hitting him on the left side of the head and shoulder and killing him instantly.
One of Briones's companions, a certain Joy Valerio, was hit by a stray bullet.
The suspects then fled on foot, leaving the victim lying lifeless on the earth dike.
Immediately after the incident, Briones was brought home on a gareta (carabao-drawn cart) while Valerio was rushed to the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Hospital for treatment.
According to witnesses, whose names were withheld for security reasons, four other unidentified individuals were seen on standby a few meters from the crime scene, which was almost two kilometers away from the barangay center.
Tumang, meanwhile, said that having served as barangay chairman, he understands the risks that accompany the position.
Tumang said the Municipal Government, together with the police, would exhaust all legal and possible means to serve justice to Briones's family.
(September 23, 2004 issue)
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