Liloan mayor’s uncle shot dead

The uncle and campaign manager of the mayor of Liloan town, northern Cebu was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding gunmen yesterday morning.

Marlito “Titi” Cañete, 50, who was the uncle of Mayor Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco, was declared dead at the Perpetual Succour Hospital in Cebu City, Senior Insp. Leo Ty, chief of the Liloan police, said.

Frasco ordered the immediate arrest of the assailants, Ty said.

Cebu Daily News tried to contact Frasco after the attack but calls to his phone were unanswered.

Police said Cañete was reading a newspaper outside a store beside the Titay’s Rosquillos shop in barangay Poblacion when two men on a motorcycle arrived at 7:47 a.m.

Ty said the backrider went down and shot the victim at close range. The suspects fled toward the northern Cebu area.

Recovered from the crime scene was a an empty shell of .45 caliber bullet.

Ty said that based on witnesses’ accounts, the perpetrators were in the area before the crime apparently to monitor their target.

Ty said one of the witnesses could identify the backrider if he sees him again because he was not wearing a helmet.

The driver of the motorcycle wore a white helmet.

Police secured a footage of the close-circuit television from the nearby Palawan Bank, but Ty said the images were blurred.

Ty said the gunmen’s motorcycle was identified as a Kawasaki Fury with blue and white color. However, it has no plate number.

Asked if the killing could be politically-related, Ty said he could not determine it yet.

“But Liloan is a peaceful place in terms of politics,” he said.

Ty said all angles will be investigated to determine the motive.

Cañete was the cousin of Frasco’s father. He ran for mayor but lost in 2004 under the slate of Panfilo Lacson who ran for President at that time.

Aside from being the campaign manager of Frasco, , Cañete was also the secretary-general of the mayor’s local party named Democracy of the Independent Liberal and Conservative./CORRESPONDENTS JHUNNEX NAPALLACAN, JOY CHERRY S. QUITO AND NORMAN V. MENDOZA