Bayan Muna coordinator in Aklan shot dead

Two days after the first media killing under the Aquino administration, a former rebel returnee and official of a militant group was shot dead in Aklan province Monday. A report on Visayas-based Bombo Radyo said unidentified gunmen shot dead Lezo town council member Fernando Baldomero at 6:15 a.m. in Estancia village in Kalibo town. Baldomero, 61, succumbed to a gunshot wound in the head and was declared dead on arrival at the provincial hospital, the report said. Both Bayan Muna representatives Teddy Casiño and Neri Colmenares confirmed the incident to GMANews.TV. His killing was the first on a member of a militant group under the Aquino administration, which started last June 30. On July 4, Jose Daguio became the first journalist fatality under the Aquino administration. Previous attack Initial investigation showed Baldomero was heading out of his house to bring a 12-year-old child to school when he was shot. "He was preparing his kid for school. As he was wearing his helmet, two unidentified suspects on motorcycle shot him," Casiño told GMANews.TV. The report cited witnesses who said the suspects wore denim jackets and helmets. The suspects reportedly fled towards Poblacion in Kalibo. At least four cal-.45 shells were recovered from the crime scene. Before Monday's incident, unidentified men threw two grenades at the victim's house in Lezo. "His life has been under threat for some time now," said Colmenares, who had stayed at Baldomero's house three days before the grenade attack. Baldomero was a former rebel returnee and a provincial coordinator of the Bayan Muna party-list group at the time of his death. The Aklan chapter of Bayan Muna condemned the incident. Casiño said Bayan Muna is calling on the government to investigate the possibility of the involvement of the military in the assassination. "Mainit ang military sa kanya, because you know, he is Bayan Muna, the radio programs brand him as [a] leftist," said Casiño. "Our demand is of course for swift investigation by the Aquino administration," Colmenares said. — with Carmela Lapeña/RSJ, GMANews.TV