Campaign leader of Albay gubernatorial bet shot dead

LEGASPI CITY – A lone gunman shot dead the campaign leader of an independent candidate for governor in Albay along with his driver inside a hardware store in Barangay Dunao in Ligao City early yesterday morning , police said.

Senior Inspector Arnel Rabe, Ligao City police chief, identified the victims as Ruben Quililin, 43, a contractor and owner of the Sto. Niño Hardware and Construction Supply, and his driver Jeremias Lladones, 44, a retired policeman from Castilla town in Sorsogon.

Quililin is a known political leader and supporter of Gonzalez, the incumbent Ligao City mayor who is running for governor.

Rabe said that based on initial investigation, the gunman pretended to buy something from the hardware and opened fire at Quililin. The staccato of gunfire prompted Lladones to investigate what was happening but was also meet with a volley of shots.

Witnesses said that the gunman walked casually towards the railway after the incident.

Probers recovered 11 empty shells from a caliber .45 pistol at the crime scene.

In an interview over radio station dzRC yesterday morning, Gonzales said the incident was politically-motivated. He blamed police authorities for allegedly not taking action to prevent the incident. He said that Quililin had already reported to the police that he was frequently seeing suspicious looking persons near his hardware.

Reports also said that Quililin had received death threats before he was killed. His family lives in Metro Manila.

"We are going to ask his wife so we can focus on the motive of the suspect," said Rabe.

The killing of Gonzales’ campaign manager followed survey results showing Gonzales’ steadily rising popularity.

The gubernatorial aspirant admitted that Quilillan was a big loss to his campaign though he said that the incident will not affect his gubernatorial bid.

Gonzales is slugging it out with four other gubernatorial aspirants, including the 82-year-old father of incumbent governor Al Francis Bichara and former rebel leader Sotero Llamas alias "Ka Nognog."

Gonzales’ wife, Linda, on the other hand, is on a one-on-one contest with Ligao City vice mayor Steve Bichara, brother of Gov. Bichara, for the mayoralty post of Ligao City. — With Christina Mendez