BACOLOD City – An incumbent councilor was shot to death in his house in Barangay Inolingan, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.
Jolomar Hilario – the town’s No. 4 councilor – died of multiple gunshot wounds early morning on Saturday.
He was declared “dead on arrival” at the Elumba Medical Clinic in La Castellana, Negros Occidental.
The killers were around 50 armed men, initial police investigation showed. Three barged into Hilario’s room around 6 a.m. while the rest surrounded the house.
The men carried high-powered firearms and were transported by three cargo trucks.
They claimed to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA), said municipal police chief Captain Junjie Liba.
Hilario, 51, was peppered with bullets while hiding under the bed.
Before the shooting, Hilario’s wife Michelle and children were taken outside the house by the armed men.
After the shooting, the armed men left Hilario’s wife – the barangay captain of Inolingan – and children unharmed. Their trucks proceeded toward Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla some 49 kilometers south of Bacolod City.
Police investigators were looking into politics as motive in the attack.
Hilario was seeking a second reelection this May 13 midterm elections. He was allied with incumbent Mayor Magdaleno Peña who is seeking a second consecutive term.
A manhunt was launched against the armed men./PN
