Politics ruled out in killing

NAGA CITY—The killing of an elementary school teacher on Tuesday in a remote village in Pio V. Corpuz town in Masbate could not be politically motivated or election-related, police said. Instead, investigators are considering land dispute as a possible motive.

Arnulfo Paghubasan, 56, was shot and killed by a man wearing a bonnet inside a classroom in an elementary school in Barangay (village) Alegria at around 5 p.m., said Inspector Dexter Panganiban, spokesperson of Special Task Force Masbate. The task force is composed of police and military men tasked with going after partisan armed groups and unlicensed firearms.

Senior Inspector Rodel Arevalo, acting head of the municipal police, said Paghubasan’s son was able to hear the gunshots and see the killer flee as the crime scene was just 50 meters away from his house.

The victim’s son immediately rushed to his father’s classroom only to see his bloodied body sprawled on the floor, Arevalo said.

Senior Supt. Heriberto Olitoquit, Masbate police director, said in a phone interview that Paghubasan was not involved in local politics. He said investigators were looking at a land row angle but he did not not elaborate. Jonas Cabiles Soltes, Inquirer Southern Luzon