City councilor shot dead in San Pablo, bodyguard seriously hurt

SAN PABLO CITY, Philippines—A city councilor in San Pablo, Laguna, was killed in an ambush Wednesday noon, according to the provincial police chief.

Initial reports from the police showed that councilor Edgardo Adajar was shot dead by still unidentified gunmen in Barangay (village) Concepcion around 4:30 p.m., according to Senior Supt. Pascual Muñoz, the Laguna police director.

Adajar’s bodyguard, whose name was not immediately available, was seriously wounded. “Fifty-fifty yung bodyguard,” Munoz said in a phone interview as he was on his way to the scene from the provincial police office.

Adajar was chairman of the city council’s committee on budget. In 2011, he authored a resolution allowing the city government to enter into a P900-million loan transaction but the deal was shelved due to opposition by members of the civil society group.

In April 2012, Adajar authored another resolution that would allow for a P740-million loan with the Land Bank of the Philippines. Adajar earlier said the money would be used to fund several government projects in San Pablo.