Politics eyed in slay of Surigao Sur mayor’s wife

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines — Bislig City Mayor Librado Navarro believes that his political rivals were involved in the killing of his wife on Saturday.

Navarro said his wife Carmencita, 62, who was shot dead by a lone gunman, had no enemies.

“My political rivals... should be persons of interest in the killing of my wife,” he said.

Navarro named former congressman Florencio Garay, whose wife he defeated in the 2016 elections, as well as Councilor David Salazar, and his brother Raul, chairman of Barangay San Fernando.

Carmencita was reportedly planning to run for Bislig mayor in next year’s elections and had been endorsed by a majority of barangay captains in Bislig.

Navarro said the Bislig police should explain why there was no police officer at the city’s baywalk when his wife was shot while she was preparing for the International Conference on Organic Farming.

Chief Superintendent Gilberto DC Cruz, Caraga police director, ordered the Bislig police to conduct a thorough investigation into the killing.

Cruz also urged the public to report to the police any information that could help resolve the killing.