Hired killer or devoted father?

Is he a hired killer or a father just defending his son?

A man accused of shooting and killing an outgoing barangay chair in Tondo, Manila, on Nov. 2 has confessed to the crime following his arrest, saying he did it because the victim hurt his 8-year-old boy.

The family of Barangay 209 Zone 19 Chair Armando Ramos, however, claimed that his death was politically motivated because he was planning to file an electoral protest against the winner in last month’s barangay elections.

They pointed out that the father of the victim’s confessed killer, Eduardo Manansala, works for the incoming barangay chair whom they did not name.

Manansala, who was arrested on Wednesday in Bulacan province, was presented to Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada yesterday.

“I said I won’t fight him because he’s the chair. But when I saw him hurting my [8-year-old] son, my mind went blank,” he told Estrada.

But Jasmine Ramos, the victim’s son, denied the allegation and said his father had reprimanded Manansala for making an illegal electrical connection.

The suspect got angry and challenged the victim to a fight, leading to a brawl which was caught on a closed-circuit television camera. Later that night, witnesses saw him shooting the victim using an unlicensed .45-caliber pistol.

“[Manansala] doesn’t even have enough money to buy food so where would he get a gun?” Jasmine said.

The suspect’s father was said to be working at a funeral parlor owned by the victim’s political rival. But when asked about these allegations, Manansala refused to answer.