Leyte village councilor survives gun attack

Leyte map. INQUIRER FILES

TACLOBAN CITY — A village councilor of Barangay Cagnocot, Villaba town, Leyte survived a gun attack by two unidentified assailants on Monday afternoon.

Junnymel Delos Santos suffered a gunshot wound on his left upper cheek and was immediately rushed to the Villaba Community Hospital by the local rescue team for treatment.

He was later transferred to the Ormoc Doctors Hospital in Ormoc City and is currently in stable condition.

Delos Santos was on board his motorcycle with his wife when two men on another motorcycle opened fire at them at around 4:30 p.m.

The attack caused Delos Santos to lose control of his motorcycle, crashing into a coconut tree.

His wife was unharmed.

The suspects immediately fled towards Barangay Cagnocot proper.

The Villaba Municipal Police Station immediately responded to the incident to arrest the perpetrators.

Former Leyte congressman Vicente Veloso condemned the attack on Delos Santos whom he identified as one of his political supporters.

“I strongly condemn this attack against an elected village leader. We call on our police authorities to ensure that justice is served by arresting those responsible for this incident,” Veloso said in a statement on social media.

The third district of Leyte is considered to be a potential area of concern in next year’s midterm elections due to the series of shooting incidents, with some of the victims identified to be supporters of local politicians.

Authorities are urging anyone with information regarding the suspects or the incident to come forward and help in the investigation.

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