IBAJAY, Aklan – Police investigators have yet to establish the motive in the shooting of a former barangay captain here by unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen on Aug. 7.
The 51-year-old Melvin Mangilaya Cabales was gunned down while riding a motorcycle with his wife and 12-year-old son at around 6:48 p.m. along the national highway of Barangay Laguinbanua near the Ibajay public cemetery.
Cabales died on the spot with a lone gunshot wound on the head. An empty shell of a .45 caliber pistol was recovered from the crime scene.
Prior to the shooting, Cabales watched the basketball game of his son in Barangay Ondoy.
While traversing the national highway, the gunmen riding-in-tandem shot him in close range.
Cabales’ wife and son were brought to the Ibajay District Hospital for minor injuries.
“Natumba ang kanilang motorsiklo ilang metro ang layo pagkatapos barilin si Melvin,” said case investigator Police Corporal Vanrick Ursos.
Cabales served Barangay Bagacay for 11 years from 2011 to 2018. He ran as independent candidate but lost in 2019 local elections for Sangguniang Bayan.
“May lead na tayo sa kaso ngunit, kailangan makausap natin ang asawa ng biktima,” said Ursos./PN
