Police: Lucena village chief shot dead outside alleged lover’s house

LUCENA CITY–Follow up investigations into the killing of a barangay chairman (village chieftain) in Lucena City on Tuesday morning revealed that the victim was shot dead while leaving the house of the woman who was said to be his lover, not his residence as it was previously reported by the local police.

Supt. Reynaldo Maclang, Lucena police chief, said the victim, Eduardo Berina, 50, chairman of Barangay Ibabang Iyam, was shot in the head by an unidentified assailant as he was about to exit through the gate of a house along Amethyst street in Pleasantville Subdivision in Barangay Ilayang Iyam around 6:45 a.m.

After the shooting, the victim was still able to take few steps going back to the compound where he fell to the ground just outside the door.

Maclang confirmed that the house was owned by the victim’s lover which he declined to identify. He said the victim’s estranged wife resides in Ibabang Iyam.

Citing investigations, Maclang said the victim has no death threats prior to the crime.

“But we’re still conducting a deeper investigation,” the police official said.

The victim was once a former number one village councilor and was serving in his fourth year as a barangay chairman. /jpv