Ex-councilor shot dead

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — A former councilor of Ilog town in Negros Occidental was gunned down by riding-in-tandem assailants Tuesday evening.

Inspector Renante Salgado, Ilog Police chief, identified the victim as 48-year-old Edmund Turk Vail, a three-termer town councilor who was also the general manager of Dangcalan Ilog Water District and president of Dangcalan Private Academy.

Salgado said the victim was having a drink with his two companions in a store at Barangay Dangcalan when he was waylaid at around 8:10 p.m. by the still unidentified attackers.

Salgado said Vail succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds on his body with a fatal shot on his head. The motive of the killing has yet to be determined and the police were still in pursuit of the killers, he said.

Vice Governor Eugenio Jose "Bong" Lacson said he was hoping the victim's assailants will be apprehended. "We have a problem with this riding-in-tandem. I hope we can come up with a way to address this," he added.