MANILA, Philippines – A newly elected barangay kagawad (barangay councilor) was gunned down on Monday afternoon, November 6, in Barangay 37, Pasay City, just a week after the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

Lina Camacho, a former barangay treasurer, was inside the village hall at around 5:35 pm when two unidentified motorcycle riders fired two shots hitting her neck.

She was rushed to Manila Adventist Medical Center for treatment, but was pronounced dead at around 8:16 pm due to a gunshot wound to the head.

The Pasay City Police was able to arrest the motorcycle driver, identified as Vladimir Del Valle Catubay, while the gunman is still at-large.

The National Capital Region Police Office, in a statement on Tuesday, November 7, said a possible motive behind the attack was a grudge related to Camacho’s participation in a lending business.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair George Garcia condemned the incident, as well as the killing of a newly elected barangay chairman in Davao del Norte on Tuesday.

Garcia and Panabo City Mayor Jose Relampagos denounced the killing of barangay chairman Paul Albert “Epong” Saquian of Barangay Datu Abdul Dadia in Panabo City, who was reportedly shot by two persons on a motorcycle while Saquian was driving his car.

“Gikondina nako kining matang sa krimen. Wala kini lugar sa katilingban, ilabi na ang mga tao nga misuprta niini,” he said in a Facebook post.

(I’m condemning this kind of crime. This has no place in a society like ours, especially for people who support it.)

In a text message sent through a messaging app on Wednesday, November 8, Garcia urged law enforcement and security agencies “to continue to monitor and ensure the security of our fellow citizens, whether the candidates win or lose, whether they are voters or not.”

He emphasized the need for an intensified campaign against criminal organizations and the immediate dissolution of private armed groups. Garcia also called for an urgent and thorough investigation into the killings.

Following these incidents, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said there should be a declaration of vacancy of the permanent positions.

According to the rule of succession outlined in the Local Government Code, Laudiangco said the next winning official would assume the higher position, with the subsequent vacant position being filled through the appointment of a qualified individual by the respective city or municipal mayor.  –Rappler.com

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