Isabela town treasurer gunned down

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines — The treasurer of a town in Isabela was shot dead by a suspected hired killer in Santiago City Friday night.

Mario Duerme, 48, of Jones town, was driving his car in the downtown area when he was shot by an unidentified assailant.

The killing occurred a week after Jones Vice Mayor Florante Raspado bared an alleged plot to kill him by hired killers arrested in the city recently.

Santiago City police chief Inspector George Cablarda said Duerme was on his way home in Baptista Village when he was shot at around 6:30 p.m.

The gunman fled on a motorcycle driven by another man. Investigators recovered 11 bullet shells for a caliber .45 pistol at the crime scene.

Police said the killing could be work-related and possibly connected with the reported plot against Raspado.

Last week, police officers arrested four armed men in a Nissan Terrano vehicle for acting suspiciously in Santiago City.

The suspects, who were reportedly from Jones, were identified as Sandy Buduan, Jones Binalimbing, Fermin de Vera and village watchman Julius Jovero.

The vehicle that the suspects were riding was reportedly owned by Editho Curameng, village chief of Dibuluan in Jones.

Raspado said the plot was politically motivated. He pointed to Curameng as the one responsible for the plot to kill him. Curameng has denied the allegation.

Raspado, a former mayor of Jones, has bared plans to reclaim his former seat in 2016. Mayor Leticia Sebastian defeated Raspado’s wife Elvie in the last elections.

Sebastian is a sister of former mayor Jesus Sebastian, who was reportedly killed by New People’s Army guerrillas in 2002.