Cebu town councilor shot dead

CEBU CITY – A municipal councilor of Argao, some 60 km from this city, was shot dead Monday afternoon near the town’s public market.

Senior Insp. Allan Rosario, Argao police chief, identified the victim as Joaquin Banosong, 65, a retired policeman, a third-termer councilor and a resident of Sitio (sub-village) Dobdob, Barangay (village) Talaga, Argao. His term was to end on June 30.

Banosong was gunned down at around 4:30 p.m. by a lone gunman while he was about to board his Starex van that was parked near the Philippine Long Distance Office in Barangay Lamacan, Argao , Rosario said.

Dr. Renato Cairo, medical officer 3 of the Isidro Kintanar Memorial Hospital in Argao town, said Banosong was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital at around 5 p.m.

Banosong had gunshot wounds on his left and right temple and another bullet wound on the left side of his neck, Cairo said.

The doctor theorized that the wounds on the temple could have been caused by a single bullet. He said this could only be established by an autopsy.

The gunman fled through a motorcycle but Rosario said he could not say if there was another suspect who drove the motorcycle.

However, in a separate interview, P02 Renato Nacaytona, a desk officer of the Argao Police Station, said the initial investigation showed that there was another man who was waiting on the getaway motorcycle.

Nacaytona said the investigators also found three empty shells and one slug from a .45 caliber pistol.

Nacaytona also said they received information that Banosong might have a lending business inside the public market.

But Rosario said they were still conducting background check on Banosong that could give them leads to his killing.