Village chair killed in Zamboanga del Sur

PAGADIAN CITY—A village chair, who had reportedly been receiving death threats, was gunned down in Molave town, Zamboanga del Sur province, officials said Tuesday.

Jerry Geromo, village chair of Milligan, was supervising the installation of buntings in connection with the upcoming barangay fiesta when shot dead by one of two men on a motorbike around 2 p.m. Monday.

Simon Camino, a village councilor, said the incident took place some 200 meters away from the Milligan barangay hall. He said the slain village chair had been receiving death threats from unspecified sources.

The Molave police office said initial investigation showed that Geromo was sitting on his motorcycle when a motorcycle with two men riding in tandem arrived. The back rider pulled out a .45 caliber pistol and initially shot Geromo thrice.

As they fled, the gunman pumped more bullets into the village chair.

Geromo was rushed to the Igano Community Hospital, also in Molave town, but died an hour later.

The victim was the fourth Miligan barangay official killed since the 2016 assassination of his predecessor, Manuel Teves, in August 2016.

Two months after Teves was killed, village councilor Jefferey Canlum was also killed in a gun attack.

Camino said just last August, gunmen also killed village councilor Floro Alicaway.

The police said they were considering all angles in the investigation of Geromo’s death. Leah D. Agonoy