THE mother of a former barangay treasurer, who was accused of malversation by the barangay chief of Captain Claudio in Toledo City, was shot by two men on a motorcycle yesterday afternoon.
Chief Insp. Michael Anthony Bastes, head of the Toledo City Police Station, said Lilia Pellerin sustained multiple gunshot wounds in her body and was brought to Cebu City.
Two men identified as Boboy Juarez, 50, and Antonio Juarez, 56, were arrested by police in a follow-up operation in Barangay Sangi.
Revenge is being looked into by police as one of the possible motives in the attack after Barangay Captain Alexander Alqueza, 68, was ambushed last March 3.
“Kaila ra daw ni sila sa kapitan pero dili pa ta kaingon nga gisugo ni sila (The suspects and the barangay captain reportedly knew each other but we cannot yet say if they were hired),” Bastes told Sun.Star Cebu.
Alqueza survived the attack, but his live-in partner Irene Wamelda, 28, died. Wamelda was a barangay councilor of Barangay Captain Claudio.
A .38 revolver and the getaway motorcycle were recovered by police from the suspects.
According to the investigation, Lilia was walking in Barangay Captain Claudio when she was shot at 3 p.m. Her son Marlon saw the incident and reported this to the police.
Denied
Bastes said that Marlon identified the two Juarezes as the assailants. The two men -- police are still verifying if they are brothers or relatives -- denied committing the crime.
“Dili pa maningog (They would not talk),” Bastes said.
Lilia is the mother of Marlyn Gonzales, who was accused by Alqueza of malversation of public funds amounting to P2.7 million. Alqueza filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
Gonzales was dismissed from her job last January after she allegedly forged the signature of the barangay captain.
In an earlier interview with Sun.Star Cebu, the former barangay treasurer feared for her family’s safety after the ambush of Alqueza.
“Basin kami unya ang mapasanginlan. Wala raba gyud miy labot ana (We might be accused of being behind the attack. We have nothing to do about it),” she said.
Alqueza, together with his family and neighbors, were heading home on board a multicab when they were assaulted in the boundary of Barangays Carmen and Dumlog.
Alqueza, a retired senior police officer, sustained four gunshot wounds in his back, head and left arm. He is currently recuperating in a private hospital in Cebu City.