San Mateo, Isabela—On the first day of office for the newly elected officials, residents were shocked after a former board member and newly appointed municipal administrator of this town was gunned down on Monday night.
Napoleon Hernandez Jr., 59, a former Liga ng mga Barangay Federation president of Isabela, was shot two times by two motorcycle-riding men while he was driving home his Toyota Vios along the national road in Dagupan village at around 7:20 p.m.
His wife Placida, who was in the same car, survived the attack.
Meanwhile, a councilor of Pilar, Abra died when he was ambushed by a still unidentified suspect.
Amante Doral was on his way home on a motorcycle but died after being shot in the back, while his son was wounded, GMA News reported.
The councilor’s family said he was already receiving death threats even before the midterm elections.
In Isabela, Police Major Jeffrey Raposas said the motorcycle riders shot Hernandez through the vehicle’s left window, hitting him in the chest.
Reports said Hernandez, the province’s former farmers sectoral representative, had just attended the inauguration of Mayor Gregorio Pua, who appointed him as the new municipal administrator when he was waylaid by the unidentified suspects.
Police recovered two shells of a .45-pistol at the crime scene.
Isabela Governor Rodito Albano III condemned the killing of Hernandez as the provincial leaders expressed their condolences to the family of the victim.
“I condemn this act of killing as this has no place in our province,” Albano said, as he appealed to the people to cooperate with the police for the possible identification of the suspects.
The Isabela police provincial office formed a Special Investigation Task Group to probe Hernandez’s death.
Raposas said the SITG would also look for nearby establishments with CCTVs that may have caught the movements of the suspects before, during and or after the shooting.