First-time village chief shot dead, companion hurt in Batangas

SAN PEDRO CITY – Another newly-elected village chairman was gunned down in Batangas province, the police said Sunday.

Jingo Sherwin Noche, chairperson-elect of Barangay Duhatan in Balayan town, died on the spot after two gunmen shot him about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, said Supt. Chitadel Gaoiran, spokesperson of the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon police.

Meanwhile, Noche’s companion, Vicente Perez, will undergo an operation Sunday after sustaining two bullet wounds, said Balayan police chief Chief Inspector Melvin Balba.

In a phone interview, Balba said the victims were walking on their way home from a celebration in a remote sitio (sub-village) when ambushed.

“So far, we don’t see anything that links the attack to politics,” Balba said, although he pointed out that an investigation was still ongoing.

Noche was the second elected village chair gunned down in Batangas after the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in May.

On May 21, Demetrio Deomampo, 51, also a first-time elected chairperson for Barangay Buso-buso in Laurel town, was also shot dead. Deomampo was a previous village councilman. /cbb