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SAN FERNANDO, La Union – A special police task force probing the killing of the re-elected mayor and a councilor of Bacarra, Ilocos Norte is checking the code-names of at least four people on the cellular phone of the slain gunman.

Senior Superintendent Marvin Bolabola, Ilocos regional chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), told The STAR that the codenames found on the mobile phone of slain suspect Marlo Kabasag could have something to do with the killing of Bacarra Mayor Philip Velasco and councilor Marcelo Andaya.

Bolabola declined to reveal the codenames to avoid disrupting the investigation.

He said Kabasag was a gun-for-hire from Abra who was identified through information provided by a concerned citizen.

A claimant surfaced yesterday to get Kabasag’s remains but Bolabola said they were still checking the person because somebody involved in the killing could have sent him.

Bolabola said they were also verifying a report that Kabasag was seen inside a vehicle in the company of a Bacarra official before Velasco and Andaya were shot in the municipal auditorium where they were attending a fiesta celebration last Sunday night. Three other people were hit by stray bullets.

A P150,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the masterminds.  – With Teddy Molina