Donsol ex-councilor shot dead

By Mar S. Arguelles LEGAZPI CITY --- A former town councilor was shot dead on Wednesday by a still unidentified gunman in Barangay Central, Donsol town in Sorsogon, report reaching the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Bicol said. Killed was Vicente Bonaobra, a business man and former municipal councilor of Donsol, according to Chief Inspector Arnol Bellen, town police chief. The report said at around 6:46 a.m. Wednesday, an unidentified gunman approached the victim while the latter was talking with someone on his cellphone inside his gasoline station. The suspect then drew his handgun and fired at the victim at close range. The victim, according to the report, sustained several bullet wounds in various parts of his body that killed him instantly. Police investigators still have no clue on the motive of the killing. Donsol, a third class municipality in Sorsogon, is one of the popular top tourist destinations in the country because of the occasional presence of Butanding, especially in the first months of the year, that attracts tourists, both foreign and domestic, for whaleshark interaction. The town is about 57 kilometers away from Sorsogon City, the province’s capital. A barangay chairman in Sorsogon City was also gunned down Wednesday night last week by hitmen believed to be members of the outlawed New People’s Army. Oscar Jetomo, the village chairman of Barangay Marinas in Sorsogon City sustained gunshot wounds in his body that instantly killed him, according to Police Senior Supt. Marlo Tejada, PNP Sorsogon provincial director said. Barangay Marinas is a remote village in Sorsogon City located in the vicinity of the towns of Casiguran and Gubat. Police said that at around 8:45 pm last Aug. 16, three suspects approached Jetomo in his residence in the guise of seeking assistance. Two of the suspects, right there and then, drew their pistols and opened fire at the village chief. Police said the killing may be insurgency-related because there was information that the victim was suspected by the rebels as a military asset.