BACOLOD CITY — A newly-elected village councilor in Candoni, Negros Occidental was gunned on Tuesday night, three days after a similar incident claimed the life of a barangay kagawad in Pontevedra town, also in the southern part of the province.
Police identified the latest fatality as Willie Castor, 58, of Purok West, Barangay Gatuslao, a hinterland village situated about 10 kilometers from the Candoni town proper.
A provincial police report released on Wednesday said Castor was shot thrice by two unidentified assailants around 7 p.m. shortly after he got out of his house to check as his dogs were said to be barking aggressively.
According to the police, they received information about the incident from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Castor was initially brought to the Rural Health Unit and died on the way to the Lorenzo D. Zayco District Hospital in the neighboring Kabankalan City.
The Candoni Municipal Police Station headed by Senior Insp. Jaynick Bermudez is still conducting an investigation as of posting time.
The killing of Castor is the second incident involving a village official in the province in four days.
On May 26, Salvacion Samson, 52, was shot to death by an unidentified assailant inside her house at Purok Tamsic, Barangay Malvar in Pontevedra town.
The police said the gunman went inside Samson’s house and fired at her twice to the head at around 8:30 a.m. She was having breakfast with her daughter when the assailant came in, and told her he had something for her.
After the shooting the victim, the perpetrator fled on a motorcycle, police said.
Samson was declared dead after she was brought to Valladolid District Hospital.
In the case of Samson, investigators have yet to identify the perpetrator, but are looking into three angles — family relations, politics, and business. (PNA)
