Ex-Laguna mayor shot dead in Rizal

A former mayor of Mabitac, Laguna was gunned down by two motorcycle-riding attackers in Pililia, Rizal yesterday morning, authorities said.

Former mayor Felix Carpio, 70, died on the spot due to multiple bullet wounds in the head and body. His 13-year-old son Antonio was unhurt.

Police found 20 empty shells and nine slugs of a 9-mm pistol at a gasoline station along the Manila East Road in Barangay Hulo, Pililia where Carpio was killed at about 6:30 a.m.

Police said Carpio and his son were on their way home in Tanay, Rizal on board an Isuzu van when the incident happened.

Senior Superintendent Leocadio Santiago, Rizal police director, said Carpio’s attackers appear to be hired guns.

"It was not an ambush but a liquidation since the suspects came from behind," he said.

Carpio’s relatives, who requested anonymity, suspect that revenge motivated his killing.

Rizal police investigators are coordinating with their Laguna counterparts to search for clues in the slay.

"It could be business or politics. We are not sure yet," said Santiago, adding that the attack was "well-planned."

Two years ago, another former Mabitac mayor, Bernardo Sayarot, was killed in an ambush in Teresa, Rizal.

In the course of the investigation, Carpio’s name cropped up as one of the alleged suspects.

"It is too early to speculate. We are not ruling out every possible angle in the case," Santiago said. — With Arnell Ozaeta and Rainier Allan Ronda