Cops eye land dispute behind vice mayor's slay

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga – Police have been investigating land dispute as the root cause behind the slaying of San Manuel Vice Mayor Reynaldo Malazo.

In an interview, Chief Superintendent Errol Pan, Central Luzon police director, yesterday said Task Force Malazo has been formed by Senior Superintendent Rudy Lacadin, Tarlac provincial police director to further investigate and identify the killers of Malazo.  

On Saturday Malazo, 64, and his bodyguard Romeo Barrientos, 47, were shot dead by three motorcycle riding men along Mac-Arthur highway in Barangay Salcedo, San Manuel, Tarlac.

Pan said the task force is composed of Tarlac police, Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, PNP Crime Laboratory and Provincial Intelligence and Investigation Divison and will be headed by Superintendent Florentino Torres, deputy director for operations of the Tarlac police.  

Initial investigation showed that land dispute could be behind the killing of the vice mayor, he said.  

Pan ordered the task force to dig deeper and look for possible angle of old political rivalry. 

At about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Malazo and his aide have just arrived in his residence from a wedding party they attended in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, when they were fired upon by the suspects.  

The victims were on board a white Mazda van (XZD 637) driven by Malazo with five companions including Barrientos.  

Police said the four other companions of Malazo were sitting in the middle of the van.  

Police said three unidentified armed men riding on tandem shot Malazo and Barrientos.

The victims were immediately rushed to the Carmen Rosales Hospital by the responding police but they were pronounced dead on arrival by the attending doctor.  

Police said Malazo sustained five gunshot wounds while Barrientos got three in different parts of their bodies. 

Recovered from the crime scene were three tilted slugs and eight spent shells of .45 caliber pistol.