Mayor’s hubby, bodyguard killed in Iloilo ambush

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – The husband of a re-electionist town mayor and his bodyguard were killed in an ambush staged by six armed men in Lemery, Iloilo, yesterday morning.

John Apura,  his bodyguard identified only as "Espaldon,” and a driver, were about to attend a campaign sortie of his wife, Ligaya,  in Barangay Anabo when the attack was staged.

Ligaya, mayor of Lemery town, was running for a fresh term under the opposition coalition.

She said the attack was politically motivated noting that her husband had received threats prior to the incident.

She said armed men had been theatening her supporters although she refused to identify those behind the attack.

Reports said Apura, Espaldon and their driver, who was not identified, had just alighted from their vehicle when the gunmen, armed with M16 and M14 armalite rifles, fired at them.

Apura and Espaldon were declared dead on arrival at the Sara District Hospital. The driver was transferred to another hospital in Iloilo City.

More than an hour after the killing, members of the Lemery police and the Iloilo provincial public safety battalion arrested Mario Cobarubias, of Dumarao, Capiz.

Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., director of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6), said witnesses tagged Cobarubias as one of the six gunmen who shot the victims.

Cobarubias, who according to police was wanted for murder, yielded an M14 rifle with two magazines and two hand grenades.

Cruz did not rule out politics as the motive, but he said they received reports that the killing could be due to a land dispute.