ANOTHER VILLAGE OFFICIAL KILLED

23 killed in Cebu in seven days, 10 during police operations, the rest by unidentified assailants

He was on his way to the police station to clear his name.

But halfway through his destination, two unidentified men on board a motorcycle fired shots at Councilman Edgar Bihag.

He and his cousins, including Cubacub Barangay Captain Almario Bihag were on board a garbage truck which they used to go to the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) at past noon on Wednesday.

Bihag, 58, and a resident of Barangay Cubacub, Mandaue City, suffered multiple gunshot wounds on his body causing his death.

He was rushed to the hospital but died minutes later.

His cousin Rolando Vega sustained gunshot wounds on the right side of his body and is recuperating at the hospital.

Barangay Captain Almario Bihag, survived unscathed.

Links

The councilman was allegedly linked by the police to the Parojinog group which allegedly controls the illegal drug trade in Ozamiz.

According to Almario, Edgar was on his way to the police station to clear his name and seek protection and give information regarding the Parojinog group in Cubacub.

MCPO Director, Senior Supt. Julian Entoma said Almario earlier contacted him that they would go to his office to clear Edgar who was accused of being one of the local contacts of the Ozamiz-based Parojinog group, also known as the Kuratong Baleleng, an organized crime group, linked to robbery, extortion and drug trafficking.

“Niingon si Kap Bihag nga duna sila’y ibutyag kabahin niadtong grupo sa Parojinog ug i-clear ang giingong involvement ni Edgar mao nga ilang dad-on si Edgar anytime karong adlawa,” said Entoma on Wednesday.

According to Entoma, Almario believed that the remnants of the notorious group were involved in the slay of his two cousins, Edgar and Paulino Vega.

Vega , 59, was shot dead by unknown assailants while he was reportedly assisting the flow of traffic at a nearby school in Barangay Cubacub on Monday. He was an officer of Barangay Public Safety Office (BPSO).

Entoma said the suspects might have been monitoring their movements.

He said they are now in the process of identifying the assailants who were wearing a full-face helmets and bonnets, and to secure a copy of the footage of a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera in the area.

Tally

Wednesday’s incident was the latest in a series of killings in Cebu.

On the same day, a drug surrenderer identified as Danilo Cantilla was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Barangay Cambaro, Mandaue City, while on board his motorcycle.

Cantilla was shot by two persons also riding a motorcycle, who blocked him on the street then fled right after the incident.

A tally made by Cebu Daily News showed that 23 persons have been killed in Cebu in a span of one week, starting October 3.

Of the number, 10 were killed during police operations while the rest were killed by unidentified assailants.

Where is Tommy?

In Cebu City, questions have been raised on why Mayor Tomas Osmeña is no longer often seen or heard and has not conducted any press conferences for a month.

His wife, Cebu City Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña said the mayor is just around the city, and is still performing his duties as the elected local chief executive. “He is around. He was in the bukid kanina (mountains earlier),” Margot told reporters at a press conference yesterday. She also said that unless he is out of town, Mayor Osmeña is in his office at the eighth floor of the Cebu City Hall.

This was Margot’s response to a column by SunStar columnist Bobby Nalzaro who questioned the mayor’s whereabouts amid the recent killings in Cebu City, and why he was silent about it.

Osmeña, who earlier criticized the local police for allegedly having a hand in the unsolved killings in the city, has refused to conduct regular press conferences indefinitely since August. But the mayor had been posting on his Facebook account his reactions to the killings in the city.

He said he planned to create a neighborhood watch and a bus system that would ferry call center agents working the graveyard shift, from their workplaces to their homes, especially after the killing of call center agent Loraine Temple last October 3. /with Morexette Marie Erram and Correspondent Paul Lauro