A CANDIDATE for kagawad (village council) in barangay Bangbangcag, Bucay, Abra, was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen last Tuesday morning in Sitio Nagpasinan, barangay Bangbangcag.
Police said Catalino M. Turalba Sr., along with his son and namesake, was riding a motorcycle heading toward their village when two still unidentified gunmen also aboard a motorcycle tailing them shot the candidate twice using a pistol.
The elder Turalba was rushed to the St. Therese Hospital in Talogtog, Dolores town in Abra but died there, according to Corporal Vicsyd D. Manuel, an investigator of the Bucay town police. The son survived.
Turalba was the latest fatality in a heated and tense situation ahead of the barangay and SK elections on October 30 in the province.
The suspects fled.
Although the latest shooting incident alarmed Abra residents, Cordillera police director Brig. Gen. David K. Peredo said things “are still manageable. He said 130 more policemen have been deployed in the province.
The Northern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces is sending more soldiers to Abra, according to Nolcom spokesman Major Al B. Pueblas.
“Depende sa density ng threats sa area. If the threat further worsens, more will be sent there,” Pueblas said.
The latest incident has brought fear among people in the province and a sense of “helplessness” as armed men continue to roam around, according to reports.
The reports added that while the sight of uniformed personnel helps, a number of Abrenios are clamoring for the further intervention of various groups and stakeholders regarding election violence in the province.
