2 dead, 3 hurt in Cavite barangay hall shooting over promised allowance

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines—An unpaid election “allowance” reportedly drove a security aide of a barangay official to a shooting spree at a barangay hall that left two people dead and three others wounded in Dasmariñas City, Cavite, police said.

An allegedly  drunk Magdaleno Verano, 52, stormed the barangay hall of Paliparan III at around 6:20 p.m. Wednesday and looked for  Marife Biyo, 48, an administrative officer of the barangay council, who had supposedly promised to give him his allowances for his election duty, Dasmariñas police chief Superintendent Joseph Peñaflor said in a telephone interview Thursday.

He said Verano was a security aide of barangay captain Eleuterio Gimbaolibot.

Verano and Biyo were arguing over the money when the suspect Verano  drew his gun and fired four shots hitting the floor, according to Peñaflor. The bullets, however, ricocheted and hit Eduardo Bunguit, a member of the local neighborhood watch, and three other barangay workers, who climbed up to the third floor of the barangay hall when they heard the commotion. .

Biyo dropped to the floor and pleaded for the gunman to spare her, but Verano shot her in the head and in the body.

Biyo was declared dead on arrival in the hospital, while Bunguit died an hour later, according to Peñaflor.

The police arrived at the scene and arrested Verano, who did not attempt to escape, said Peñaflor.

Aside from murder charges, Peñaflor said, they would charge Verano with violation of the election gun ban for carrying a .45-caliber gun without proper documents.

The amount of the money that Verano and Biyo argued about was unknown.