Village councilor shot dead in Cagayan; 2 suspects nabbed

INQUIRER FILES

TUGUEGARAO CITY – A 59-year-old village councilor was gunned down by motorcycle-riding assailants in Barangay Palca, Tuao town, Cagayan, on Thursday morning (June 19), according to a belated police report.

Rodrigo Dupitas, a councilor in Barangay Angca, Tuao, succumbed to gunshot wounds to his head.

Police Colonel Mardito Anguluan, director of the Cagayan Provincial Police, said the suspects were apprehended late Thursday afternoon.

According to witnesses, the suspects were both wearing helmets and sweatshirts—one in red, who drove the motorcycle, and the gunman in black, who rode pillion.

Members of the Tuao police, the Cagayan mobile force, and the victim’s wife pursued the suspects and arrested them in nearby Barangay Bagumbayan.

READ: Cagayan town mayor shot dead during campaign sortie

Authorities confirmed that the two suspects are residents of Zamboanga del Norte and were temporarily staying in Tuao.

Crime scene investigators from the Regional Forensic Unit 2 (RFU2) recovered two empty .45-caliber shells, one live bullet, a motorcycle with an improvised sidecar, and a cotton swab with traces of blood.

Cagayan Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Salvador Mallillin said there was probable cause to justify the suspects’ arrest and the filing of murder charges. INQ