Bet for Pasay barangay councilor shot dead

In a recent FB post, Anthony Joseph Echavez wrote: “New challenge ahead. I hope that I survive granted that I win. Nothing to lose if I try.” —DEXTER CABALZA

A man running for barangay councilor in Pasay City was shot dead on Monday night, just a few days before the start of the campaign period.

According to a report submitted to Pasay police chief, Senior Supt. Noel Flores, Anthony Joseph Echavez was killed outside his house on Cuyegkeng Street in Barangay 4.

He was playing darts with some relatives and friends at 10:35 p.m. when a man on a motorcycle with a female passenger arrived in the area.

Act of vengeance?

The man shot the 36-year-old Echavez before giving the gun to his companion, telling her: “Go ahead. This is your chance to get even with him!”

The woman then shot the victim several times before the pair drove off toward Roxas Boulevard.

Echavez died later at the Ospital ng Maynila while a passerby, 54-year-old Orlando Buenaventura, was treated for a gunshot wound on the wrist.

Forensic examiners recovered six shells from a still undetermined firearm at the scene.

Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario, Southern Police District director, said that it has yet to be determined whether Echavez’s case was the first poll-related case of violence in Metro Manila since the start of the election period.

The Commission on Elections in Pasay City confirmed that Echavez filed a certificate of candidacy for Barangay 4 councilor on April 15, making him one of 18 bets for seven seats on the council.

His younger brother, Julius Cesar, is an incumbent barangay councilor.

Julius said he doesn’t think his brother’s killing had anything to do with his candidacy.

“He was an independent candidate. Besides, we are a small barangay. We know each other here; we would know if anyone had a grudge against my brother,” he added.

Barangay 4, which is near the city’s border with Makati and Manila, has a population of 2,473.

Possible motives

Senior Insp. Wilfredo Sangel, chief of the Pasay police investigation section, said the police were looking at two possible motives: Echavez’s alleged involvement in video “karera” gambling operations in the area and his reputation as a ladies’ man.

The police said that Echavez, who was married and had four children, had fathered over a dozen other children with different women. But his family said he was “a good man with a heart for helping others.”