Negros councilor gunned down

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines– A councilor of Isabela, Negros Occidental was shot dead on Wednesday.

Crispin Posadas Jr. had just alighted from his motorcycle at the town’s public market at around 5 p.m. when he was shot, said Chief Inspector Anthony Grande, Isabela police chief.

The assailants fled on a tricycle, which was abandoned in Barangay Maytubig.

Posadas was declared dead on arrival in a hospital.

Seven bullet shells for a .45-caliber pistol and 9mm revolver were recovered at the scene.

Shortly after the killing, the New People’s Army (NPA) released a statement owning up to the crime.

In a radio interview, Ann Jacinto, spokesperson for the NPA’s Leonardo Panaligan Command, said they killed Posadas.

Jacinto said a “people’s court” found Posadas guilty of several crimes, including illegal drugs and castle rustling.

A former soldier, Posadas, was reelected for a third and final term.