A Facebook photo of Bethany Hospital in Tacloban City in Leyte where Pablo Volcan, husband of Rosalina, reelectionist Anibongon barangay chairperson, was brought after he was shot dead Monday Oct. 28, 2013 as he and companion, Romeo Añover, aboard a motorcycle, were on their way to vote at the Anibongon Elementary School.
TACLOBAN CITY Philippines — The husband of a reelectionist barangay chairwoman in a Leyte town was shot dead shortly after the balloting started Monday morning and police were now investigating the husband of the candidate running against the victim’s wife.
Killed was Pablo Volcan whose wife, Rosalina, was seeking another term as barangay (village) chairperson of Anibongon, 7 kilometers away from the town proper of Jaro town.
The suspect was identified as Claudio Momo whose wife, Bernardita, was also running for barangay chairwoman of Anibongon, a village of 144 registered voters.
“It is clear that this killing is election-related considering of the persons and the circumstances involved,” Senior Inspector Jesus Rico Esoy, town police chief, said in a phone interview.
Based on their investigation, Volcan and a companion, Romeo Añover, were on board a motorcycle on their way to cast votes at the Anibongon Elementary School at around 7:30 a.m. when Momo, who was also riding a motorcycle, allegedly shot Volcan, hitting Volcan and Añover on their backs. The school was about 500 meters away from the crime scene.
Volcan was immediately brought to the Bethany Hospital in Tacloban, some 50 kilometers from Jaro town, where attending doctors declared him dead on arrival. His wounded companion, Añover, was brought to the nearby Carigara District Hospital in Carigara town, also in Leyte.
The suspect, who was using an unidentified firearm, immediately fled the area and was being hunted down by the police authorities, Esoy said.
Esoy said Rosalina was seeking her last term as chairperson of their village. During the 2010 barangay elections, Rosalina defeated Bernardita.
Esoy said that he immediately deployed additional policemen at the school together with members of the Philippine Army based in Jaro, to ensure that the balloting would continue unhampered.