Village exec slain, 4th in Pampanga

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines—The body of a village councilman, apparently shot dead, was found in Arayat town, one of two election hotspots in Pampanga, on Tuesday night.

The killing of Kagawad Lauro Batas in Purok 2, Barangay Sto. Nino could not be immediately ascertained as election-related, according to Superintendent Allan Palomo, the town police chief in a phone interview on Wednesday.

He was the first elected government official killed at the start of the election period, said Senior Superintendent R’Win Pagkalinawan, provincial police director.

Batas, 39, was found dead at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in a bamboo hut within a compound next to his house, Palomo said.

The victim’s motorcycle was found right outside the gate of his house.

There were no witnesses to the incident as of Wednesday, Palomo said.

Batas works as a driver of an official of the bus company RJ Transit.

He survived an attack on January 28, 2012, a report from the Pampanga police showed. The suspect in that incident was a certain Narciso Parungao whom Batas had sued for attempted murder in February that year. Palomo said there was no immediate proof linking the 2012 attempt to Tuesday’s killing.

Batas was the fourth village leader killed since the third quarter of 2012.

Those who have been waylaid in Arayat were Barangay Captains Joel Puyat of San Agustin Norte and Armando Castro of Barangay San Roque Bitas. Castro is a Liberal Party leader.

In Mexico, San Miguel Barangay Captain Jose Gonzales Jr. was killed on December 5. His son survived the ambush by two motorcycle-riding men and told police that the suspects that one of the men worked as a security personnel for a local politician.