Kalunasan councilman shot dead

CEBU, Philippines — A barangay councilman of Kalunasan, Cebu City was shot dead by still unidentified gunman in front of the barangay hall yesterday afternoon.

Councilman Roel Mabano, 41, resident of Upper Kalunasan, was talking to the barangay tanods and other barangay workers around 2:30 p.m. when the gunman appeared and shot him pointblank. The assailant immediately escaped onboard a waiting motorcycle.

Mabano, a retired policeman, chairs the barangay council committees on peace and order, water concerns, and laws. The victim, who was on his first term as councilman, won the fourth place in the recent barangay elections.

Guadalupe Police Station chief Senior Inspector Eduard Sanchez said the victim used to be assigned in Guadalupe but was transferred to Police Regional Office-2 after his name was allegedly included on the narcolist.

Mabano's father, Procopio, however, claimed that his son availed of an early retirement. Sanchez said they will check the family's claim. He admitted that they are still facing a blank wall on the motive of the killing.

Sanchez said they will ask the help of the cybercrime unit to enhance the security footage from the barangay to identify the shooter. The shooting was caught on video from the closed-circuit television camera of the barangay.

The Barangay Council of Kalunasan headed by its captain Nunilon Monares condemned the killing of Mabano.

"We condemn in a strongest possible term the killing of our first termer Kagawad Roel Mabano on a broad daylight. He is a dedicated public servant even if he is still on his first term as Barangay Kagawad. There's no safe place, even in what we considered a secure place," read a statement from the barangay.

The barangay officials are asking the authorities to serve justice to the family of Mabano. (FREEMAN)