Palawan ex-vice mayor shot dead

CAMP Vicente Lim, Laguna — A former El Nido town vice mayor in Palawan was killed by a lone assailant inside his house early yesterday morning.

Chief Superintendent Delfin Genio Jr., Region 4-B police director, identified the victim as Edwin Vidal, who sustained a fatal gunshot wound in the stomach.

Senior Superintendent Arsenio Piñacate, Palawan police director, said Vidal’s wife Julieta also sustained superficial wound on her wrist when he was grazed by a bullet from a caliber .9mm. She was treated at a nearby Taytay Hospital in El Nido.

Reports said that at around 3 a.m., the gunman entered the house through a window and shot Vidal at close range, killing him instantly.

Police recovered from the crime scene three empty shells and a slug from a caliber 9 mm pistol, which will be submitted to the PNP Crime Laboratory for analysis.

Piñacate said they have yet to determine the motive for the killing but added that some reports had indicated that the murder could be politically motivated.

A radio report from dzBB-Palawan said that a certain Nestor Fernandez, who is reportedly eyeing the mayoralty seat next year, has vouched that the killing was politically motivated.

Fernandez was supposedly planning to get Vidal to be his runningmate in the 2007 polls.

El Nido town Mayor Edna Lim has ordered the local police to conduct a deeper investigation of the incident.

The Palawan provincial police office has likewise sent additional troops to the area to beef up security and to aid in the investigation.

Meanwhile, the El Nido police invited possible witnesses, who were near the area during the incident.