Reelectionist village chief shot dead in Batangas | Inquirer News
POLICE STILL TO DETERMINE IF POLL-RELATED

Reelectionist village chief shot dead in Batangas

/ 04:30 AM September 06, 2023

LUCENA CITY—An incumbent village chief seeking another term in the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in October was shot and killed in Taal town of Batangas province on Tuesday.

Police Maj. Fernando Fernando, Taal police chief, said in his report that the victim, Erasmo Hernandez, 59, the chief of Barangay Poblacion Zone 10, was standing in front of the village hall when shot by two armed men on board a motorcycle.

Hernandez died while being treated at Lemery Doctors Hospital in neighboring Lemery town, investigators said.

Article continues after this advertisement

Col. Samson Belmonte, Batangas police chief, formed a Special Investigation Task Group that would immediately solve the killing and directed investigators to “not stop until those involved in this incident are located and arrested.”

FEATURED STORIES

In a phone interview Tuesday, Fernando said they were still determining if the killing was election-related.

On Monday, the Philippine National Police reported that it has so far monitored seven suspected election-related incidents of violence across the country, following the start of the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) on Aug. 28 for the barangay and SK elections on Oct. 30.

Article continues after this advertisement

That day, a village chief in Libon town, Albay province, was also shot and killed by still-unidentified assailants.

Article continues after this advertisement

Police said Alex Repato, incumbent and reelectionist village chief in San Jose, was gunned down in front of his house at 5:20 p.m. The killing took place just over six hours after Repato filed his COC.

Article continues after this advertisement

RELATED STORIES

Close to a million have so far filed COCs for 2023 BSKE — Comelec

Article continues after this advertisement

Comelec extends anew filing of 2023 BSKE COCs in NCR, Abra

—DELFIN T. MALLARI JR. INQ
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

TAGS: 2023 barangay elections, slain barangay officials

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.