Town councilor, 1 other die in separate Masbate shootings

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NAGA CITY—Two persons, including an incumbent municipal councilor, were killed in separate shooting incidents in Placer and Uson towns in Masbate province on Saturday morning, police said.

In Placer, the victim Antonio De Ocampo, town councilor, was with relative Michael Angelo de Ocampo when they were shot at by unknown gunmen at 9:30 a.m. in Barangay (village) Katipunan, police reports said. 

Antonio died but Michael Angelo survived the attack. He is now being treated at the Cataingan District Hospital.

Police also said that Antonio was planning to run as a reelectionist in the upcoming midterm elections in 2019. He reportedly scheduled to submit his certificate of candidacy to the Commission on Elections on Monday.

Investigators are establishing whether the killing was politically motivated.

In Uson, victim Oscar Fernandez, 28, was with Rocco Borris, a “habal-habal” (motorcycle for hire) driver, when two suspects followed them and fired shots at them using a .45-caliber pistol at around 1 a.m. in Barangay Libertad. Fernandez died instantly while Borris sustained bullet wounds.

Police were able to identify the suspects in the shooting incident in Uson as Renald Alvarado, alias “Pusiw,” and Recto Araneta, alias “Canyot,” all residents of the village.

Alvarado and Araneta fled after the shooting and are now the subjects of an ongoing police search. /jpv