3 charged for ex-Quezon vice mayor’s slay

LAGUNA, Philippines — Three persons have been indicted for the fatal ambush of a former vice mayor of Dolores, Quezon.

William Panganiban, 51; Orlando Ragudo, 43, and Rolando Risona, 44, were charged with murder before the Office of the City Prosecutor of San Pablo City in Laguna on Aug. 3, according to Lt. Col. Joewei Lucas, city police chief.

Ragudo and Risona were tagged as the alleged gunmen, while Panganiban was reportedly the driver of a vehicle used by the suspects in the ambush of former Dolores vice mayor Danilo Amat.

The suspects, reportedly former aides of Amat, were positively identified by six eyewitnesses as well as by relatives of the victim through the help of video footage taken by a closed-circuit television camera installed near the crime scene.

Lucas said a special investigation team created to handle the case is eyeing politics and personal grudge as motives for the killing.

“We have the name of the alleged mastermind, but we are still gathering more information and evidence so we can build a strong case against the killer,” Lucas said.

Amat was in his car when he was ambushed along Seven street in Barangay San Francisco last month. He was declared dead on arrival at the San Pablo City General Hospital.

Amat ran but lost in the May 9 elections.