Violence has reared its ugly head in one of the most peaceful towns in Capiz as Mambusao Vice Mayor Abel Martinez was shot dead by unidentified men Friday (May 4).
A year before the national and local elections in 2013, the third-termer vice mayor was gunned down in front of his house at around 6 p.m. along Rizal Street.
He died while being rushed to the Mambusao District Hospital. He sustained five gunshot wounds in the face and body.
Police said Martinez was standing in front of his house talking to a neighbor and the caretaker of his small poultry farm when a lone gunman pulled a .45-liber pistol from a sack and shot him.
According to witnesses, the gunman walked toward Consolacion Street after the incident where he boarded a waiting red motorcycle and fled toward Lamindan town. The triggerman and the motorcycle driver wore neither ski masks nor helmets and were very calm.
Reports said there were no known threats to Martinez’s life. He had no personal bodyguard.
Senior Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr., spokesman of the Philippine National Police was quoted as saying Capiz is considered one of the most peaceful towns during elections.
