Nueva Ecija mayor, 3 councilors survive ambush

TALUGTOG, Nueva Ecija, Philippines – The mayor and two councilors of this town were unhurt while another councilor was slightly wounded when Armalite-wielding men ambushed them while they were on their way to a nearby town early yesterday morning.

Senior Superintendent Ricardo Marquez, provincial police director, said Mayor Quintino Caspillo Jr. and councilors Freddie Domingo, Benjie Gamit and Jerry Agpalo, together with their driver Eduardo Concepcion, were cruising the provincial road in Barangay Boado here aboard a Toyota Innova when they were fired upon at around 3:45 a.m.

Caspillo, a come-backing former three-term mayor, is a close ally of Gov. Aurelio Umali. He is a brother of Regional Trial Court Judge Rodrigo Caspillo.