A barangay captain in Cebu City said he was the target of the failed assassination attempt in barangay Capitol Site where a shooting took place last Wednesday.
Babag barangay captain Cesar Dolorito said someone may have harbored a grudge against him arising from land disputes due to the nature of his work managing a land consultancy firm.
The motive isn’t politics, he said.
His two bodyguards, Romeo Malise and Julito Lunggakit, figured in a shootout with three men on Don Gil Garcia Street.
Dolorito said the suspects may have mistaken his bodyguard for him since they were wearing similar polo shirts at the time.
Dolorito was in his office when the gunfight broke out.
Dolorito said he had been receiving threat messages on his cellphone since January.
“Last January, naa koy nadawat nga text nga isang bala ka lang, pagka-Pebrero naa say mi text nga dili na ka kabuntagan (Last January, I received a text message saying I am only good for one bullet then in February, someone texted me that
I will be dead before morning comes),” said Dolorito, who manages a land consultancy firm in Avon Building on Don Gil Garcia Street.
He said his office helps research documents in land disputes and facilitates legal remedies for clients.
Two suspects, Charles Garces and Froilan Orlanez, both residents of barangay Tinago, Cebu City, were arrested after their getaway motorcycle hit a car while they were trying to escape.
Garces told police they were hired by a certain Roger and Tirol to kill the barangay captain.
At the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Dolorito narrated the two threatening text messages he received.
He said he reported the recent threat to the City Intelligence Branch.
Asked how he earned from his consultancy business, Dolorito said that if a case is won in court, the client pays him 40 percent of the value of the property while 60 percent goes to the owner.
The recent shooting won’t stop him from continuing his work, said Dolorito.
He ruled out political friction as a motive.
“Malinawon man ang politika sa among barangay,” he said.
Dolorito said he had someone in mind who could be responsible for the attack but will keep it to himself for the meantime.
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