ILIGAN CITY—The vice mayor of Maigo in Lanao del Norte has reportedly committed suicide, police and military authorities said on Saturday.
Lt. Col. Leomar Jose Doctolero, commander of the 15th Infantry Battalion, said Vice Mayor Elmer Ramos was found dead inside his home with a gunshot wound to the head on Friday.
Doctolero said Ramos had gone home after attending the meeting of the town’s peace and order council and had since failed to return to the municipal hall.
Further check at his home yielded the bad news, he said.
Supt. Madid Paitao, Lanao del Norte police director, told the Inquirer by phone on Saturday that based on initial investigation, Ramos, his wife and a helper were the only ones present at the house on Friday.
He said the three of them were at the living room of the house watching TV around 3:30 p.m. or about 15 minutes before Ramos was found dead.
Paitao did not identify Ramos’ wife or the helper.
He said in between watching TV, the couple was talking normally.
Paitao said based on the helper’s account to investigators, the vice mayor went up to the master’s bedroom a few minutes later.
“Around 3:45, the helper and the vice mayor’s wife heard the muffled sound of a gun and immediately went upstairs to check on it,” he said, adding that the master’s bedroom was air-conditioned.
Paitao said the wife and the helper found out that the door of the master’s bedroom was locked, which prompted them to call for help.
When it was forcibly open, they saw Ramos lying on the bed with a single bullet wound on the left temple, he said.
The .45-cal. Mark IV pistol was also found near Ramos’ body, according to Paitao.
Paitao said further investigation showed the vice mayor was left-handed, which could explain why the bullet went into his head from the left temple.
“The wife and helper said there was nothing unusual in his action before he was found dead,” he added.
But even though the indication point to a suicide, he said investigation was continuing to ascertain that there was no foul play in the death of Ramos. With a report from Allan Nawal