Barangay head, trike driver slain in Davao City

DAVAO CITY — A barangay chairman and a tricycle driver were the latest victims of summary executions blamed on a vigilante group called the Davao Death Squad in this southern metropolis.

The vigilante killings resumed last week, claiming the lives of five men, after a lull during the campaign period for the May 10 elections.

Last Friday night, two motorcycle-riding men gunned down 26-year-old tricycle driver Dindo Capote in Barangay San Antonio in Bajada district.

Capote was reportedly in the list of suspected drug peddlers in the city, as most of the victims of the "salvagings" (summary executions) were.

A few hours after Capote’s killing, unidentified men shot dead Sabino Villarte Jr., chairman of Barangay Tomas Monteverde in Agdao district.

Villarte had reportedly come from a meeting with his barangay kagawads (councilmen) at the barangay hall when he was attacked.

Villarte’s bodyguards were able to return fire and killed one of the gunmen who remained unidentified as of presstime.

No one has come forward to claim the slain suspect’s remains, thus police could not yet establish the motive behind Villarte’s killing, said Senior Superintendent Conrado Laza, city police chief.

Authorities, however, were exploring other angles in the slaying such as politics and personal grudges.