Vice mayor’s aide shot dead in Caloocan

A MEMBER of Caloocan Vice Mayor Edgar Erice’s staff was shot dead by two men as he was in the midst of  preparations for a  barangay  activity.

Sammy Delana was doing community work at Phase 5, Bagong Silang,  Barangay 176 in Caloocan City,  when two men on board a motorcycle passed by, and fired at him repeatedly.

The victim sustained  gunshot wounds in the face and the chest.

He was declared dead on arrival at   a hospital where he was brought for treatment.

“Sammy  was the deputy director of the Center for the Poor. Every Saturday, we organize education campaigns on  corruption in schools. He was in the process of setting up meetings with a key speaker for the campaign when he was shot,” Erice said.

Delana’s companion, Hilda Dioquino, the president of the Parents-Teachers Association of Sto. Niño Elementary School,  sustained a gunshot wound in the hand.

The two men who shot the victims managed to escape after the incident.

Senior Supt. Jude Santos, chief of police, said he had already sought the assistance of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Northern Police District in leading an investigation of the case.

This  was seen as an attempt  to quash suspicions   that the police chief could have a political agenda.

Santos, whom Erice has accused of overstaying in his post, is a known ally of Mayor Enrico Echiverri.

The vice mayor  has also filed criminal and administrative charges against the mayor in the Office of the Ombudsman.

In particular, Erice charged Echiverri and three other city officials before the Office of the Ombudsman after they allegedly failed to remit more than P38 million worth of contributions made by city government employees to the Government Service Insurance System.

Last month, the Ombudsman ordered the preventive suspension for six months of Echiverri although the Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order in the mayor’s favor.

“We will be coordinating with the NPD and the CIDG until the case is fully solved,” Santos said.

“Sammy was  very effective in what he did. He worked from Monday to Sunday. Whoever killed him  knew that  my campaign against corruption would be jeopardized  if he was the target,” Erice  said.

He refused to elaborate.

The vice mayor  added that Delana had no known enemies since he was a “very kind person.”

At the same time,  Erice blamed the local police for “failing” to stop the killings in Bagong Silang despite his repeated calls for action.

“The killings in Bagong Silang are rampant. What is the Caloocan City Police doing about it? “he said.