Former village councilor shot dead in Negros Occidental

BACOLOD CITY – Four armed men claiming to be New People’s Army (NPA) rebels shot and killed on Wednesday a defeated candidate for barangay councilor in Sitio Calubihan, Barangay Tan-awan, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental province.

Rodolfo Ambong, 48, a barangay tanod who ran and lost for Tan-awan barangay councilor last May 14 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, died on the spot due to multiple bullet wounds.

Police investigation showed that Ambong was aboard a motorcycle when he was shot and killed by the four men who introduced themselves to the barangay residents as NPA members.

Supt. Rhea Santos, Kabankalan City police chief, said the victim suffered 11 bullet wounds, including a fatal shot in the head.

The police recovered 15 fired cartridges of 9mm and .45 caliber pistols at the scene of incident.

Santos said Ambong was charged with murder but the case was dismissed due to the non-appearance of witnesses against him.

Police said they were looking into the possibility that the murder case had something to do with his killing.