Police officers inspect the crime scene where Barangay Calamba Councilor Hildibrando Ygonia was shot by an unidentified assailant in Barangay Calamba, Cebu City, on Friday afternoon, June 22, 2018. CDN photo/ Benjie Talisic
A COUNCILMAN of Barangay Calamba, Cebu City, was shot and critically wounded by an unknown assailant about 25 meters away from his residence in Sitio Mahayahay past 5 p.m. on Friday.
Hildibrando Ygonia, a last term village councilor, was rushed to the Cebu City Medical Center.
As of 10 p.m. on Friday, he was still fighting for his life at the hospital, said SPO1 Winston Ybañez, homicide investigator of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).
Ygonia, in his 40s, sustained a gunshot wound on his head.
Ybañez said the councilman was walking outside his house when the assailant approached and shot him.
The gunman quickly boarded a motorcycle driven by another person before they both fled.
“We’re looking at personal grudge as the possible motive behind the (attack) although we’re still conducting an investigation,” he said in an interview.
A bystander identified as Rowena Pepito was hit by stray bullets in the legs.
She was also brought to the hospital and was already out of danger.
Senior Supt. Joel Doria, director of the Cebu City police, said they were still in the process of identifying the two perpetrators.
“The probe is ongoing. Our investigators are on the field (to gather evidence),” he said in a phone interview.
Last March 23, Ygonia was arrested by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) for alleged possession of two unlicensed guns — a .45 caliber pistol and a .38 revolver.
He was later released from detention after he posted bail.
In an interview after his arrest, he admitted bringing the .45 caliber pistol to protect himself after he received death threats from an unidentified person.
Ygonia claimed he was a staunch supporter of the police’s anti-illegal drug operations.
Before the May 14 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, he requested the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare Calamba as among the election hotspots after an unidentified person went to his house and asked one of the workers in a bakery about his whereabouts.
Ygonia said the unidentified person pointed a firearm at the worker.