Capiz town vice mayor shot dead

ROXAS CITY—An 81-year-old vice mayor in Capiz was shot dead on Friday morning by a lone gunman outside his house in Barangay Poblacion Proper, Mambusao town, about 45 kilometers southeast of this city.

Vice Mayor Abel Martinez of Mambusao was in front of the gate of his house after talking to a neighbor about 6 a.m. when the assailant shot him thrice in the head and twice in the body.

The gunman was then seen casually walking toward his companion who was on board a motorcycle parked some 100 meters away from Martinez’s house, according to Chief Insp. Samuel Vipinosa, Mambusao police chief.

He said the police had yet to establish the motive for the killing of Martinez, who was into money lending in partnership with some businessmen and politicians.

Martinez was being eyed by the Liberal Party as its candidate for mayor in the 2013 elections since Mambusao Mayor Jose Alba is on his third and last term.

The vice mayor was also vocal in his opposition to the rehabilitation of the town plaza by the administration because the project allegedly involved desecrating some historical statues and cutting of century-old trees.

Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas, LP president who hails from Capiz, said he and Capiz Gov. Victor Tanco were offering P500,000 as reward for the arrest of the gunman and the driver of his getaway vehicle.

Roxas City Mayor Angel Alan Celino also pledged to give additional P100,000 as reward.

Martinez, 81, went out of his house early Friday morning to talk to his neighbor, retired Senior Police Officer 2 Gil Lagad.

Lagad said the vice mayor was asking him to facilitate the application for a gun license of Martinez’s driver-bodyguard since the retired policeman still had connections in Camp Crame.

After they talked, Martinez went back to his house. Before he could get inside the gate, the assailant shot him five times.

Lagad said he saw the gunman finish off Martinez who was lying on the ground with blood oozing from the head and other parts of the body.

After the shooting, the gunman walked toward his companion who was on a motorcycle. The two sped off toward Jamindan town.

Martinez was brought to the Mambusao District Hospital, a kilometer away from his house, where he was declared dead on arrival, said attending physician Suzette Jinon.

Martinez was a three-termer board member representing the second district of Capiz before he was elected vice mayor. He was on his second term.

Before he joined politics in 1998, Martinez was the rural health officer of Mambusao and was a member of the board of director of the Capiz Electric Cooperative.