2 bets dead in gun attacks in Isabela, N. Ecija

JONES, Isabela—Two candidates for town councilor were killed in gun attacks in Isabela and Nueva Ecija provinces on Thursday, a day after communist rebels murdered the vice mayor here, police said.

Heinrich Apostol, San Isidro village chief and Nationalist People’s Coalition candidate for town councilor in Jones, was shot dead by a lone assassin at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, hours after communist rebels killed Jones Vice Mayor Ronaldo Lucas.

Apostol’s companion, Jimmy Balmilero, village chief of Dicamay Uno, was hurt and taken to the Prospero Bello Hospital here for treatment of a bullet wound in the right foot. Apostol was described as an ally of Lucas.

Lucas was accosted and then detained by the National People’s Army (NPA) rebels, along with a councilor and an employee. They were held while campaigning at the villages of Dicamay 1 and Dicamay 2 in Jones, where rebels had been sighted.

Lucas’ two companions, Jones Councilor Suzette Lucas and an unidentified employee, were released unharmed.

In a statement, the NPA Benito Tesorio Command claimed responsibility for killing Lucas for violation of the terms of his NPA permit to campaign. They also alleged Lucas and his men were caught buying votes and carrying firearms during the campaign period.

Before midnight on Thursday, a candidate for councilor in Talavera town in Nueva Ecija was shot and killed by a lone gunman.

Gerald Fermin, San Pascual village chief of that town, was running under the Liberal Party and was a political ally of reelectionist Mayor Nerivi Santos Martinez.

Police said Fermin was shot at close range while attending a wake.

Senior Supt. Leon Rafael, Isabela police director, said the murders in Jones might prompt authorities to place the town on the list of election areas of concern.

He said police had formed a task force to go after the killers of Lucas and Apostol.

Army Capt. Edelbert Mendoza, the Army’s 86th Infantry Battalion operations officer, said they did not know that Lucas had gone to communities where NPA presence was believed strong. Villamor Visaya Jr.,

 Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon