by Miriam G. Desacada
Political violence at this early—considering the forthcoming barangay and SK elections months from now—is one of the angles being looked into by investigators as the motive of the sudden attack by seven armed gunmen at Barangay Hamorawon in Calbayog City Friday afternoon that resulted in the death of three persons, and wounding of two, while sparing two others.
The police identified the victims: 1) the three who died on the spot were Vicente Luzon Jr, 45, a construction worker, Rachel Ann Belino, 14, a Grade 8 student, and Angelo Lustico, 43, the habal-habal driver;
2) the two wounded victims were Lane Dealagdon, 31, a housewife, and Emy Casaljay, a barangay secretary of Brgy. LaPaz in Calbayog; and
3) those who escaped unharmed were Vicente Luzon Sr, 73, a self-employed widower, and Venjo Vere, 30, a warehouse security guard.
The “timbol,” ridden by Luzon Sr. and Luzon Jr., Vere and Belino came from Brgy Geragaan and was bound for Brgy. Hamorawon; while the “habal-habal,” ridden by Dealagdon and Casaljay, and driven by Lustico came from the city proper and was bound for Brgy. Osmena passing through Hamorawon.
Except for the two Luzons and Belino, who were all residents of Hamorawon, the rest were residents of different barangays.
All of these barangays are near each other, however, and located at Calbayog district, the most populous and commercially busy district among the three districts of Calbayog City.
Initial investigation showed that when the “timbol” reached Hamorawon, Luzon Sr. asked the driver to stop for a while as he was going to urinate by the roadside. It happened in time when the “habal-habal” got into the same area.
Suddenly, seven unidentified men, wearing black long-sleeved T-shirts and armed with rifles and short firearms appeared and, without any provocation, fired at will to the stunned commuters.
After the shooting, the assailants casually fled on foot towards the mountainous area of the barangay, near the crime scene. The wounded victims were rushed to the Calbayog District Hospital for immediate medical attention.
While the forensic unit of the Samar Provincial Police Office was processing the crime scene, operatives of the Calbayog Police immediately conducted hot pursuit operations that would lead to the identification and arrest of the gunmen.
Calbayog Police chief, P/Colonel Ericson del Rosario, said thorough investigations into the incident are underway and there were no substantive details yet so far.
But one operative implied that one of the possible motives being looked into is politics, once it is determined if the victims were supporters of particular candidates or not at all. —Miriam G. Desacada
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