(UPDATED) Mayor David Navarro of Clarin, Misamis Occidental was shot dead Friday, October 25, a day after he was arrested for allegedly mauling a massage parlor attendant in Cebu City.
Navarro, who was on the narco list of President Rodrigo Duterte, was in police custody when gunmen attacked around 2 p.m. Friday. The mayor was in a police vehicle going to the Cebu City Prosecutor's Office to undergo inquest proceedings for the complaint filed by the massage parlor attendant.
The chief of Clarin Police, who was with the mayor, was wounded. Four others in the van were also hit, Fuente Police Station Chief Eduard Sanchez said, quoting initial reports.
The shooting occurred on M. Velez St., just a few meters away from the Cebu Provincial Capitol and in front of the driveway of the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas. As of 3 p.m., the body of Navarro has not been moved from the crime scene.
A sidewalk vendor in the area said he heard a burst of gunfire and saw a white van block another vehicle.
"Kalit kaayo ang nahitabo. Murag one minute lang (It happened so fast, probably in just one minute)," he said.
In a statement Friday evening, Central Visayas Police Regional Office Director Val de Leon said he has formed a special investigation task group to investigate the killing of Navarro, and identify and arrest the perpetrators.
Navarro was arrested Thursday afternoon, October 24, while trying to catch a flight to Misamis at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
He was booked for slight physical injury at the Abellana Police Station in Cebu City based on a complaint by John Dueñas, a massage parlor attendant.
The mayor, who was in Cebu City to attend a workshop, went to a massage parlor in Fuente Osmeña Wednesday night.
Navarro, who was reportedly drunk, asked for a female attendant and got angry when told that no one was available.
He allegedly mauled Dueñas, who had told the mayor to lay off and calm down.
A female attendant, who was later sent to the mayor's hotel room, also alleged that Navarro had forced her to give him a hand job. Navarro had spent Thursday night in detention at the Abellana Police Station in Cebu City. (SunStar Philippines from reports of AYB/BBT of Superbalita Cebu)