CABANATUAN CITY – A 42-year-old
barangay councilor who has openly supported the reelection bid of a municipal
mayor in Nueva Ecija was gunned down in broad daylight by a lone gunman inside
a junkyard in Llanera town Sunday, the Philippine National Police reported
yesterday.
Senior
Superintendent Crizaldo Nieves, PNP provincial director, identified the slain
official as Nick Apan, barangay councilor of Ricarte, Llanera. Apan died from a lone gunshot wound in the
head.
Apan
is a supporter and ally of reelected Llanera Mayor Lorna Mae Vero of the
Liberal Party.
Vero
described Apan as reserved and kind-hearted.
Apan’s
killing was pulled off at around 6 am Sunday in Ricarte.
Nieves
said Apan was inside the compound which he owns when the gunman, accompanied by
two others aboard three separate motorcycles, parked in front of the junk yard.
The gunman posed as a customer while
his companions served as look-outs. The suspect then drew his .45 caliber pistol
and shot Apan from point-blank range
then fled.
Apan was rushed to a hospital in this
city but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police have yet to establish the
motive for the attack.
Vero declined to speculate on the
possibility that politics could be the motive, saying police are looking into
several angles, including possible business rivalry and love triangle.
“We have to wait for the results of
the police investigation before we can make any conclusion,” she said.- Manny Galvez
