Village chief slain at birthday party

LAMBUNAO, ILOILO, Philippines — A 33-year-old barangay captain of this town was shot to death while attending a birthday party at Brgy. Quiling Monday evening and initial police investigation pointed to a love triangle as the possible motive of the killing.

Elidel Porral, chief of Brgy. Quiling, suffered multiple pellet wounds on his head and neck. He was rushed to Dr. Ricardo Y. Ladrido Memorial Hospital in this town but was declared dead on arrival.

Police Reports said that Porral was on a drinking spree with some relatives at the debut party of their Sangguniang Kabataan chairperson Cheryl Rojo when the incident happened.

As his nephew went out of the house to buy ice, a gun fire rang out. Seconds later, Porral fell on his seat, bloodied.

Chief Insp. Rogelio Ortigas, Lambunao police chief, said the gunman had positioned himself on Porral's back, and seemed to be in that post for quite some time before the attack, as evidenced by a number of cigarette butts.

The assailant quickly fled from the crime scene, but he left behind his baseball cap.

Ortigas said the police already have a witness who claimed seeing the same basketball cap worn by a man whose identity the police investigators had refused to divulge for now.

During the incident, a certain Rufino Papelera was hit by a stray bullet but is now in stable condition.

Investigators are now eyeing a love triangle angle. "We received that report but we are still verifying it," Ortigas said without elaborating.

It was gathered that the victim's wife is now working in Singapore. – THE FREEMAN