Malabon mayoral bet laments death of supporters, hits cops for incompetence

Two barangay councilors in Malabon said to be supporters of a mayoral candidate, Rep. Josephine Lacson-Noel, were shot dead on Holy Wednesday at a gasoline station in the city.

They were identified as Daniel Villaluna, 42, a fire volunteer and councilor of Barangay Concepcion, and Bienvenido Reyes Jr., 40, a councilor of Barangay San Agustin.

Both were in an ambulance bearing a photo of Noel when they were approached by the gunman, said Senior Supt. Severino Abad Jr., Malabon police chief.

The shooting happened at a gas station on the corner of General Luna and Sacristia Streets.

Reyes, who was shot once in the chest, was rushed by bystanders to the Pagamutang Bayan ng Malabon while Villaluna, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the body, was brought to Manila Central University Hospital. Both men, however, later died of their injuries.

A witness told the police that he saw the gunman escaping on a motorcycle driven by a cohort.

Recovered from the crime scene were three shells from a .45-cal.  pistol.

Noel, meanwhile, told the Inquirer on Saturday that she had sought the help of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Northern Police District (NPD) in solving the case.

She accused the city police of being “slow, biased and incompetent” in solving the killings in the city, particularly the cases involving her supporters.

“We have theories [regarding their murder] but we are just waiting for the investigation [findings] of the CIDG and NPD. There were several killings that happened in Malabon, especially those involving my party, and yet there are no clear leads [or] updates,” Noel said.

She cited the murder attempt earlier this month on Victorio Torres Trinidad, Barangay Acacia chair, another of her supporters.

Torres was shot at by two unidentified motorcycle-riding men but survived the attempt.

“These incidents and attacks make me angry…but I always tell my supporters to take precautions,” Noel said. “These barangay councilors are a big loss to the Malabon community. They were not only serving their constituents, they were practically serving the entire city as a fire volunteer and ambulance driver for the community,” she added.

Abad, who called Noel’s claims baseless, said they have formed an investigation task group to investigate the death of the two barangay councilors. They were also looking into the possibility that the killing of Villaluna and Reyes may be politically motivated or related to a personal grudge and vendetta, he added.

In January, City Councilor Merlin “Tiger” Manalac, a member of the Pusong Malabon Party led by Mayor Lenlen Oreta, was shot dead in front of his house in Barangay Tinajeros. The police are still trying to identify his killers.