Asturias shooting: Cebu lawmaker calls for swift probe on killing of village chief, wife

Police examine the crime scene where a couple as killed in Asturias town, northern Cebu on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. CDN Digital Photo | Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu 3rd District Rep. Pablo John Garcia has urged authorities to shed light on the shooting in Asturias, northwest Cebu that claimed the lives of a village chief and his wife. 

Garcia, in a statement, asked the police for a ‘swift and thorough investigation’ on the deaths of Manguiao Barangay Captain Mario Tundag and his wife, Edna. 

“The killers of Kap Mario and his wife must be brought to justice because not only is he a public official, the couple now leaves behind six orphaned children,” said Garcia.

The lawmaker also expressed alarm over the brutal killing, which happened last Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in broad daylight. 

“This is a shocking incident not only because it happened in Asturias, a peaceful municipality in Cebu’s third district, but also because it was along the national highway in the center of town just outside where school children sat in their classrooms,” Garcia added. 

The Tundag couple was declared dead on the spot.

Police have already initiated a dragnet operation to trace, identify, and capture the suspects, believed to be a riding-in-tandem.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras near the Asturias Central School managed to record the crime as it unfolded, in what seemed to be the latest in the recent string of violence against politicians here in the country. 

Meanwhile, investigators said they are considering all possible angles and motives behind the Tundags’ killing, including politics and personal grudge.

Asturias is a third-class municipality located 75 kilometers northwest of Cebu City.

/bmjo

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