Ilocos Norte re-electionist executive shot dead

CAMP FLORENDO, La Union, Philippines – Barely five days before the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, a re-electionist barangay chairman vying for his third and final term in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte was gunned down last Tuesday morning.

Senior Superintendent Marlou Chan, Ilocos Norte police director, said the victim, Francis Ganir Cariño, 49, chairman of Barangay 2 San Agustin, was having a drinking spree with friends when three men on board an Isuzu Trooper with license plate WLX-984 fired at him.

Witnesses told investigators that a certain Rexel Sison allegedly joined Cariño’s group, followed by the gunman and a companion, said to be bodyguards of a local official.

The victim was rushed to the Gov. Roque B. Ablan Sr. Memorial Hospital in Laoag City but was declared dead on arrival.

Police recovered four empty caliber .45 shells at the crime scene.

Chan said Sison had been arrested while his two companions were still being hunted down.

Chan said investigators have yet to determine if the killing was politically motivated or not.

For his part, Sarrat Mayor Edito Balintona lamented that the killing happened amid the strict enforcement of the gun ban.

He appealed to the general public not to speculate and wait for the results of the investigation.

He gave assurance that he would assist Cariño‘s family seek justice.