Calbayog City engineer gunned down

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — The assistant city engineer of Calbayog City was killed in a gun attack yesterday.

Witnesses said Rafaelito Serrano was buying medicine at a drug store along Navarro street when a lone gunman shot him at close range.

The victim was declared dead on arrival in a hospital.

The gunman fled on a motorcycle driven by another person and escaped toward Asis street.

Calbayog Mayor Ronaldo Aquino condemned the killing even as he expressed concern that most of the victims of recent gun attacks in the city were his supporters.

Three barangay chairmen and a district hospital employee also known to be close to Aquino were  killed this year.

A task force was recently created to investigate the killings.

Aquino expressed disappointment over the failure of the Philippine National Police to resolve and stop the killings.

He said at least 32 incidents from 2014 to 2016 remain unsolved.