San Fernando Councilor Alfonso Donaire IV was found lifeless sprawled on the floor after he was shot dead in Ramon Magsaysay town in Zamboanga del Sur early on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2019. |Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY — Another councilor from the town of San Fernando in Cebu was shot dead, barely a month since the ambush that wounded Mayor Lakambini “Neneth” Reluya and killed husband, Councilor Ricardo “Nonoy” Reluya, and two others.
The Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Police Office (ZSPPO) confirmed to Cebu Daily News Digital that Councilor Alfonso Donaire IV was found dead in Ramon Magsaysay, a fourth-class municipality in Zamboanga del Sur in Western Mindanao.
A police officer from the ZSPPO, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak to the media, told CDN Digital by phone that they received the report on the shooting incident from Ramon Magsaysay town at around 6:30 a.m. today, Saturday, February 23.
“Confirmed po na may member nang SP (Sangguniang Panlungsod) from San Fernando sa Cebu na namatay sa Ramon Magsaysay. Na receive po namin yung shooting alarm around 6:30 a.m.,” said the policeman.
He added that investigators from Ramon Magsaysay Police Station are still gathering information into the killing of Donaire.
Initial reports said that Donaire was killed in Zamboanga City but a text message sent to CDN Digital from the Public Information Office of Zamboanga City Police Office stated that they have not recorded any shooting alarm for today.
Donaire is the third elected public official from San Fernando town of southeastern Cebu who had been killed since January.
Last January 22, while Mayor Reluya survived an ambush in Barangay Linao, Talisay City, it claimed the lives of her husband Ricardo, the village chief of Panadtaran who was an ex-officio member of the municipal council as president of the town’s Association of Barangay Councils (ABC); their driver Allan Bayot; and San Fernando Local Economic and Investment Officer Ricky Montenora.
On January 16, a former municipal councilor, John Arriesgado, who was then the barangay captain of Magsico, was ambushed and killed in the town.
Six days earlier, on January 10, Councilor Reneboy Dacalos was also shot dead in the town in broad daylight.
Read more: San Fernando, Cebu reelectionist councilor shot dead
Police tagged Jerome Labitad and Felix Abacajan Jr. as the gunmen behind the Reluyas’ ambush but both remain at large.Police have identified prime suspect in Mayor Reluya’s ambush.
Read more: Police have identified prime suspect in Mayor Reluya’s ambush
Mayor Reluya early this week offered a P2.2-million reward to anyone who could provide information leading to the mastermind and the suspects in the ambush.
Read more: San Fernando Mayor Lakambini Reluya offers P2.2 million reward
With the incidents of killings in the town, police were now considering raising to a higher level the election hotspot status of the town. /elb