Shooting incidents in Catbalogan no impact on brgy polls - PRO8

By RPCRD, Police Regional Office 8
October 4, 2013

CAMP KANGLEON, Palo, Leyte – The two shooting incidents recorded in Catbalogan City the past days will not affect the conduct of a peaceful barangay elections in the city and the entire Samar province, said the region’s top police official.

Police Regional Office 8 (PRO8) director PCSupt. Elmer R. Soria assured that the recent gun attacks victimizing a former and an incumbent village official are isolated incidents as he ordered a thorough investigation and manhunt operations against the suspects in the recent case that transpired Thursday evening resulting in the killing of a village councilor.

“Pending the result of the investigation, thorough assessment and the establishment of the motive, we cannot consider these yet as election-related incidents,” Soria said.

At around 6:20 p.m. Thursday, Narciso Lagbo, 46, was gunned down by two unidentified assailants while waiting for his wife, Daisy, outside Charito’s Delights Fastfood along San Roque street.

Victim sustained gunshot wounds at the back of his neck and lower back hip that went through his abdomen resulting in his direct death.

Suspects fled towards the Catbalogan public market while responding policemen recovered four fired cartridges, two .45 and two 9mm calibers, and two slugs at the crime scene.

Lagbo is a first termer councilor of Brgy. Tagbayaon in Jiabong, Samar, some 15 kilometers from the city.

Meanwhile, the police have filed Monday murder charges against Reymund Bañar at the Office of the City under NPS number VIII-08-INQ-131-00432.

Bañar was positively identified by witnesses as one of the two gunmen who shot ex-chairman Filomeno Cabarriban of Brgy. Lagundi in Catbalogan City at past 11:00 a.m. Sunday.

Bañar, 21, was arrested a few hours after the incident in a manhunt operation by a joint police team from the Regional Special Operations Group 8 (RSOG 8) and Catbalogan police station in his hide-out situated at the outskirts of Lagundi village, some two kilometers from the crime scene.