2 accomplices in Batangas village chief’s slay nabbed

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines  – Two alleged accomplices of the suspects in the killing of a barangay captain in Taal, Batangas on Tuesday have been arrested.

Brig. Gen. Carlito Gaces, Calabarzon police director, withheld the identities of the two, who were apprehended hours after the crime.

Police said the motorcycle, helmets and personal belongings of the suspects were recovered in a cockpit in Barangay Halang where the two were arrested.

Batangas police director Col. Samson Belmonte said footage of closed-circuit television cameras caught the suspects fleeing on a motorcycle after the crime and entering the cockpit.

Charges of obstruction of justice and accomplices are being readied against those arrested.

Erasmo Hernandez, chairman of Barangay Poblacion Zone 10, was in front of the barangay hall at around 7:20 a.m. when unidentified men on a motorcycle arrived. One of the motorcycle riders reportedly shot Hernandez several times.

Hernandez was seeking reelection in the Oct. 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

A manhunt for the assailants is ongoing. – Emmanuel Tupas, Arnell Ozaeta