P1-M reward offered in village chief’s slay

ILAGAN CITY, Philippines – Anac-IP party-list Rep. Jose Panganiban is offering a P1-million reward for information leading to the arrest of those behind last Wednesday’s killing of a village chief in Isabela. 

Arnold Pastor, 47, chairman of Barangay Loria in Angadanan town, and his wife, Leilanie, 45, succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds when their Toyota Hilux were peppered with .45-caliber bullets.

Pastor was an ex-officio member of the municipal council, being the Liga ng mga Barangay president of Angadanan where Panganiban served as mayor for nine years.

Panganiban’s wife is now the town’s incumbent mayor. The slain barangay official was reportedly one of the Panganibans’ political supporters.

The Pastors had just come from a wake and were on their way home when they were waylaid.

Investigators were looking into personal vendetta and job-related angles in the killing, although relatives and supporters of the Pastors said the couple had no known enemies or threats. – Charlie Lagasca, Raymund Catindig