Hit five times, Manila village chief survives ambush

A barangay chair in Manila was wounded in an ambush staged by four motorcycle-riding gunmen on Wednesday night.

Kristo Hispano, the 37-year-old chair of Barangay 549, Zone 68 in the Port Area, was driving a Toyota Fortuner on Roxas Boulevard when attacked near Quirino Avenue around 9:45 p.m.

He was alone and had just left Manila Hotel where he attended a program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government honoring 10 outstanding barangay chairs, according to a Radyo Inquirer report.

Gilbert Dela Cruz, a village watchman who accompanied Hispano at the DILG awarding rites, said a past election rival of Hispano, identified as Jojie Omandac, was killed also in an ambush in Manila on Tuesday afternoon.

The Inquirer on Thursday reported the killing of Omandac, 56, a retired Marine sergeant who was shot dead while driving in the Port Area.

On the night of Hispano’s ambush, two officers—PO1s Anthony Abobo and Napjohn Velasco—were on patrol in the area when they heard the gunshots.

They rushed to the site where Abobo saw one of the attackers shooting at Hispano, according to Chief Insp. Romeo Salvador, Manila Police District-Station 9 commander.

From a distance, Abobo fired at the assailant twice but missed. The gunmen were last seen fleeing on two motorbikes.

Inside his bullet-riddled vehicle, Hispano sustained five gunshot wounds in his left shoulder. He was brought to a hospital and was later declared in stable condition. —FAITH BROWN, CYRILLE CUPINO, RADYO INQUIRER