TWO public officials from Cebu and Bohol have been shot dead in as many days. One of them was a candidate in the Oct. 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
Barangay Cansomoroy Councilor Anastacio Pacquiao, 60, was running for barangay captain of Cansomoroy, Balamban town in midwest Cebu, when he was killed on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
In Bohol, Municipal Councilor Danilo Añora of Buenavista town was fatally shot by riding-in-tandem assailants on Friday, Oct. 6, along the national highway in the municipality’s Barangay Cangawa.
In the Cebu incident, Pacquiao was driving a motorcycle when he was shot by a gunman on a motorcycle on the national highway in Prenza, Balamban.
Hired guns
Police said they had identified the suspects in his murder.
Police Lt. Col. Glenn Hife, chief of Balamban Police Station, said the perpetrators were hired guns who had records at the station, including outstanding arrest warrants, and were only residing nearby.
However, he declined to divulge their names while the investigation is ongoing.
Balamban police are now conducting manhunt operations and checking CCTV footage in an effort to apprehend the criminals.
“These suspects have been identified. They have pending warrants of arrest, which we are looking into,” Hife said.
Hife said they were looking at politics or personal grudge as the possible motive for the killing.
It was alleged that Pacquiao got into an argument with someone last month due to a land dispute.
It was learned that the victim also worked on the side as a habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) driver.
Hife said that during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, the victim was active in the campaign against illegal drugs.
Before he was elected to three terms as councilor, Pacquiao was part of the Civilian Volunteer Organization.
He also served as a barangay tanod in Cansomoroy.
Even though it has not yet been established whether the incident was election related, the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 took note that the victim was a candidate.
Security adjustment
“Well, this is a serious matter for us because this is a murder incident and the victim is a candidate. Surely we will consider this in our adjustment of our security deployment,” said Police Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson for PRO 7 Director Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin.
Pelare said they may implement security adjustments in Cansomoroy for the BSKE as a result of the incident.
In the Bohol incident, according to reports, the gunman, who was backriding on a motorcycle, shot Añora as he was riding his Honda XRM motorcycle on his way home from the town’s cockpit arena.
Añora was rushed to the hospital in the nearby Dagohoy town but was declared dead on arrival.
The Regional Joint Security and Control Center has identified 41 areas in Central Visayas as areas of concern and immediate concern based on incidents in previous barangay elections. (AYB, TPT)