Village councilor shot dead in Zamboanga del Sur

INQUIRER FILES

PAGADIAN CITY, Philippines — A village councilor was shot to death on Friday evening in Barangay Upper Dumalinao of Dumalinao town, Zamboanga del Sur.

Col. Restituto Pangusban, Zamboanga del Sur police director, identified the victim as Michael Verallo.

The police reported that Verallo was driving his white XRM 125 motorcycle on his way home to Purok Mangga in Barangay Upper Dumalinao when two unidentified gunmen emerged from a grassy area and shot the victim several times at around 11 p.m.

The gunmen immediately fled the area after the shooting.

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According to the police, Verallo had 17 gunshot wounds — 10 on his head, 6 on his body, and one on his knee — which caused his immediate death.

Probers recovered spent shells from .45-caliber and 9-mm pistols at the crime scene.

Pangusban called for an emergency meeting on Saturday morning and created a special investigation team to fast-track the probe of the killing.

The police also coordinated with the victim’s family to trace possible motives as they were eyeing personal grudge to have triggered the attack.