Panlilio supporter gunned down in Pampanga town

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines – A supporter of former Pampanga governor Eddie Panlilio was shot and killed by two men in Arayat town on Tuesday, police said.

The assailants, who were on a motorcycle, gunned down Gaudencio Penulliar at 7:30 a.m. as the latter swept his front yard in San Agustin Sur village, said Superintendent Allan Palomo, Arayat police chief.

Penulliar, 65, was a village councilman on his second term, he said.

Bonifacio Alejandrino, LP mayoral bet in Arayat and the victim’s brother-in-law, said Penulliar, a retired policeman, was a Born-Again Christian lay leader and Panlilio’s coordinator among Born-Again Again Christian groups in the town.

Panlilio, who is running for governor against reelectionist Gov. Lilia Pineda, condemned the attack, saying it was an “affront to democracy.”

Alejandrino said a witness identified one of the gunmen as “Kobing,” reportedly a resident of San Juan Baño village, also in Arayat.

Palomo said they have yet to establish if the attack was election-related.

Alejandrino said some 10 LP supporters among civilians, incumbent and former village leaders in the town had been killed since 2012.

Palomo said Penulliar was the second village leader killed in Arayat since January.