Village councilor gunned down during STL draw in Laguna

SAN PEDRO CITY — The police on Sunday said they have ruled out politics in the killing of a village councilor in Biñan City in Laguna province but added they are looking into the victim’s involvement in the Small Town Lottery (STL) operation in the city.

The victim, Joselito Marfori, 55, a councilor in Barangay (village) Casile, was gunned down around 4 p.m. Saturday. He was a former captain of Casile, but he ran and won as a councilor in the recent barangay election.

In a phone interview Sunday, Supt. Gaivin Mel Unos, city police chief, said Marfori was “monitoring” the ongoing draw of the STL when he was shot dead by a lone gunman. The gunman had escaped.

Unos said they are still coordinating with the Ramloid Corp., the STL operator in Laguna, to determine what exactly Marfori’s job was in the company. The victim’s family, however, told the police that he had long been working “as manager” for the local franchise of the government-sanctioned numbers game.

“We have ruled out politics already because, based on his family’s statements, (Marfori) did not have any political enemy. He did not have any threat and also because, I’ve personally monitored Casile during the last election and it was very peaceful,” Unos said. /je