Ilocos Norte newsman gunned down in front of daughter

BAGUIO CITY—An Ilocos Norte newspaper columnist was killed in front of his daughter Friday night, allegedly by his girlfriend’s former husband, police said.
Steve Barreiro, 52, who wrote columns for the Ilocos Times, was shot several times at a convenience store in Barangay (village) Poblacion 2 in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte at 10 p.m.

Police said Barreiro died instantly from several bullet wounds.

According to the victim’s colleagues in the Ilocos Norte media, Barreiro had been inactive in the local media at the time of his death. Barreiro, they said, had no regular job but was involved in activities of the local Rotary Club chapter.

Stefanie, Barreiro’s daughter, and several other witnesses at the crime scene, identified the gunman as Oliver Doctor, who is now the subject of a manhunt.
Barreiro resides in Laoag City but frequents Pasuquin to visit his girlfriend, Criselda Aguinaldo, whose marriage to Doctor was annulled years ago.
Police are pursuing the theory that the suspected gunman and the columnist had a heated argument at the store.
In 2008, a hand grenade exploded inside the Barreiro compound in Laoag but no one was arrested, police said.
Barreiro, however, insinuated that the suspect in the blast was a Pasuquin resident, according to a police intelligence officer in Ilocos Norte.
“We mourn Steve, a valued member of the media and the Ilocos community,” said Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, in a statement. Leilanie Adriano, Yolanda Sotelo/RAM