Village chief shot dead in Vizcaya’s premier town

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – A barangay chairman in the premier town of Solano was gunned down late Wednesday night, the second village chief to be slain in the province in two months and the 10th in the region in the past two years.

Senior Superintendent Pedro Danguilan, provincial police director, identified the victim as Rodolfo Teaño, 57, village chief of Tucal, Solano, who was waylaid by at least five men while on his way home from a nephew’s wake at around 10:30 p.m.

Teaño’s killing occurred hours after unidentified men shot dead an Indian businesswoman, Harvender Kaur, 37, in front of the gate of her residence in Barangay Mariano Perez here.

Teaño was immediately rushed to the Medical Mission Group Hospital in Solano town but was declared dead on arrival.

Danguilan cited reports from the Solano police that Teaño had at least four gunshot wounds in different parts of the body.

He said his men were putting more emphasis on old grudge and revenge as a possible motive behind Teaño’s killing.

“That is the most likely angle according to our investigation, but we cannot rule out the possibility of politics, the victim being a public official,” he added.

Recovered from the crime scene were five spent shells and a slug from a caliber .45 pistol and the victim’s eyeglasses.

Teaño was the second village chief to be killed in two months in the province. The other victim was Paul Baguilat of the remote mining village of Didipio in Kasibu town. 

Meanwhile, in Tabuk City, Kalinga, former village official Manuel Lardizabal of Bulanao Norte was also shot dead the other day, reports said.

Lardizabal reportedly sustained four gunshot wounds from a caliber .45 pistol.