Police are looking into politics as one of possible motives in the ambush that took place in barangay Dumlog, Toledo City, southwest Cebu last Monday afternoon.
Killed in the attack was Captain Claudio barangay councilor Irene Wamelda, 28. Her live-in partner and Captain Claudio barangay captain Alexander Alqueza, 68, was wounded in the attack.
The victims were aboard a Multicab driven by Alqueza when they were waylaid by unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants.
A habal-habal driver told police that the three assailants wore full-faced helmets.
Chief Insp. Mark Anthony Bastes, chief of the Toledo City Police Station, said aside from politics, investigators are also exploring other angles.
A former treasurer in Captain Claudio who is facing charges filed by Alqueza was invited by police as part of the investigation.
Marlyn Gonzales, 38, denied involvement in the attack. She said although Alqueza filed corruption charges against her before the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas, she harbored no ill feelings toward the village chief.
Aside from the live-in partners, Wamelda’s four-year-old nephew was also in the front seat.
Three others were seated at the back of the vehicle.
One of the passengers said what she saw was like a movie scene.
She said she jumped off the Multicab when the vehicle was about to ram into a coconut tree.
Bastes said he and Alqueza met last Sunday where the barangay offcial shared some information regarding some shooting incidents and other crimes that had happened in the area.
Grecilda “Gigi” Sanchez, Cebu Third District Board Member, asked the police to fast-track the investigation.
“This needs thorough investigation,” she said.
Sanchez said her office will extend financial assistance to the families of the victims.
Sanchez went to Toledo yesterday morning to visit the family of Alqueza, who is recuperating in a private hospital in Cebu City.
“We just have to coordinate with the family so that we’ll know their needs,” she told Cebu Daily News.
Sanchez said Alqueza is allied with the Liberal Party (LP).
Sanchez said she already met with Alqueza and Wamelda in one of their campaign sorties in Toledo last year.
Sanchez she could not tell if the attack was politically-motivated. /with Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos