Ranking DILG official shot, fights for life

LUCENA, Quezon—The regional director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the Calabarzon region is fighting for his life after he was shot by an unidentified gunman in Calamba, Laguna, early Monday.

Renato Brion, 60, remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit of the Calamba Medical Center hours after he was shot, according to Supt. Chitadel Gaoiran, the spokesperson of the police regional office in Calabarzon.

Brion was the DILG official who served the suspension order on dismissed Makati Mayor Junjun Binay last March when he was the DILG director for Metro Manila.

Brion had just gotten out of his car around 7:30 a.m., and was about to enter the DILG office at the Andenson building in Barangay Parian, Calamba, when he was shot several times by a lone gunman.

Brion’s wife and his driver who remained inside the car were unhurt, police said.

The Calabarzon police has launched a manhunt for the gunman who fled on foot after the shooting.

Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento condemned the attack on Brion, whom he described as “one of the respected leaders in the [DILG] who is a known expert in the field of local governance.”

“The DILG is deeply saddened by this violent act perpetrated against a loyal and dedicated public servant who is due to retire in the next few months after several years of committed service to the people,” Sarmiento said.

“Such [a] dastardly act has no place in a civilized society like ours,” he added.

Sarmiento said the DILG “will leave no stone unturned to bring the perpetrators to justice,” and ordered the Philippine National Police to identify and arrest those responsible for the attack.

President Aquino has ordered the DILG to offer a P2-million bounty for any information that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators, Sarmiento said.

He said he was “instructed” by the President to offer the reward to expedite the investigation into the attack on Brion. Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon, with Julie M. Aurelio and Marlon Ramos, Metro Manila