A BARANGAY kagawad escaped death after armed men ambushed him at the outskirt area of Barangay Laga-an in Calatrava town, Negros Occidental aaround 8 p.m. Saturday, April 30, 2022.
Nelson Panogan, 51, was unharmed but his Mitsubishi Pajero vehicle was damaged as it was riddled with bullets, Calatrava Municipal Police Station chief Major Lumyaen Lidawan said.
Panogan told the police that he was on his way home from his sister’s house when six armed men shot him.
He said he has no idea who could be behind the assassination attempt against him as he has no known enemies nor has received death threats.
Lidawan said the witnesses claimed that there were only two suspects who came out from the sugarcane field beside the road.
The police official added that the shooting could be work-related since aside from being a barangay official, Panogan is also a consultant for a construction company.
Asked if there is a possibility that the assassination attempt could have been carried out by the members of the New People’s Army, Lidawen said “it is not remote.”
Policemen recovered from the crime scene a fired cartridge of a .9 millimeter pistol and a deformed slug of the same caliber.
Meanwhile, a festival reveler was shot and hacked in Cauayan town, Negros Occidental around 8 p.m. Saturday.
Renante Gregorio, 37, of Sitio Mantukdo in Barangay Guiljungan in Cauayan was on his way home when he was suddenly hacked by the unidentified suspect hitting on his both arms.
Gregorio said he tried to escape but the suspect later shot him in the back.
He is now confined at the Lorenzo Zayco District Hospital in the nearby Kabankalan City.