Davao del Norte town mayor’s brother gunned down

DAVAO CITY – The brother of the incumbent mayor of New Corella, Davao del Norte was shot dead by a motorcycle-riding assassin in Barangay Poblacion here Tuesday morning.

Rogelio Serrano Jr., 44, who worked as administrative aide at the New Corella municipal government, was shot in front of New Corella National High School at around 7 a.m.  after leaving his boarding house, police Col. Ferlu Silvio, provincial director of the Davao del Norte police, told the Inquirer.

Serrano succumbed to three gun wounds to the head his head, Silvio said.

Serrano was the brother of incumbent New Corella Mayor Rhodora Alcoran, who is running for reelection under the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HnP) in next week’s midterm elections.

In her Facebook post, Alcoran said she suspects that the killing of his brother is politically-motivated.

“Kung inyo unta ko gipapili position o igsoon. Mo undang ko dayon ihatag nako ang position basta dili lang mawala akong igsoon (You could just have asked me to choose between my position and my brother, I would have immediately stopped so that I wouldn’t have to lose my brother),” Alcoran stated.

She did not name names, however, but condemned those who plotted to kill her her brother, who was not active in her campaign activities.

“I already tasked the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) provincial team to assist the police in probing the death of Serrano. Right now, we are looking at all possible angles behind his death, including politics,” Silvio said.  /gsg