By Nef Luczon | Philippine News Agency
Police in Lanao del Norte have summoned “persons of interest” to aid in identifying the suspects behind the killing of election officer Mark Orlando Vallecer II in Salvador town on Monday (Nov. 25).
PCOL. Roy Magsalay, the provincial police director, said two individuals have been invited for questioning as part of the investigation. Vallecer, 51, was shot and killed by two assailants riding a motorcycle. He was an election officer in the neighboring town of Nunungan.
Magsalay disclosed that Vallecer had received death threats in the months leading up to his death.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Comelec Employees Union strongly condemned the attack.
In a statement, Angelo Ray Obrero, president of the All Xavier University High School Alumni Association in Cagayan de Oro, called for swift justice, noting Vallecer’s significant contributions to their community.
“JhoVals’ (Vallecer’s nickname) contributions to our alumni community and society at large cannot be overstated,” Obrero said.
Vallecer’s killing occurred just two days after another election officer, 31-year-old John Nico Pandoy, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in President Quirino town, Sultan Kudarat province.
Authorities are investigating whether the incidents are linked.