MANILA, Philippines — Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez has condemned the fatal shooting of the municipal mayor of Los Baños and ordered a thorough investigation of the crime.
In a Facebook post, Hernandez condemned the killing of Mayor Caesar Perez, who was shot in the head inside the municipal hall on Thursday evening and died shortly after in the hospital where he was taken.
“Taos pusong nakikiramay ang inyong lingkod, sampu ng aking pamilya, sa mga naiwang kapamilya at kababayan sa Los Baños ni Mayor Caesar P. Perez,” the governor said Thursday night.
(I, along with my family, offer my sincerest condolences to the family and constituents in Los Baños who were left by Mayor Caesar P. Perez.)
“Mariin kong kinokondena ang nangyaring pagpatay kay Mayor Perez at pinag-uutos ko ang masusing imbestigasyon ukol sa bagay na ito upang makamit ang nararapat na hustisya,” he added.
(I strongly condemn the killing of Mayor Perez and order a thorough investigation on the incident so that justice can be served.)
According to police, Perez, a former vice governor of Laguna, just came from a public spa near the municipal hall compound when shot twice in the head at around 8:45 p.m.
Perez was earlier included in the national government’s watchlist of government officials allegedly involved in the drug trade. He had repeatedly denied this accusation.