But investigators said there was no evidence to show that the killing of Neptaley Salcedo, son of Sara town Mayor Neptali Salcedo, was related to politics.
Salcedo, 32, died of a gunshot wound in the back after he was shot around 10:30 p.m. inside the 116-9 bar at the old central market in Sara, around 98 km northeast of Iloilo City.
Investigator Senior Police Officer 4 Roger Diom said in a telephone interview that police were looking for the alleged gunman, Roxin Bascoguin, also a resident of Sara.
Diom said that Salcedo, who was with a group, tried to intervene in an altercation between Bascoguin and other customers.
Bascoguin “was already drunk and became rowdy and the victim tried to placate the suspect,” Diom said.
Citing witness accounts, Diom said Bascoguin and two companions went out of the bar but the suspect went back shortly afterward with a homemade 12-gauge shotgun and shot Salcedo.
The victim was pronounced dead on arrival at the Sara District Hospital.
The Salcedos have dominated politics in Sara for decades. The town’s vice mayor, Neptali Salcedo Jr., is a brother of the victim.