Pampanga councilor eyeing vice mayoral seat dies after knife attack

A municipal councilor, who was planning to run for vice mayor in the town of Sasmuan, Pampanga in the coming May 2019 polls, died after being stabbed by an unidentified suspect, Super Radyo dzBB reported on Saturday.

In a radio interview, Pampanga Police Provincial Director Senior Superintendent Nicolas Salvador identified the victim as Jesus Angeles.

Citing an initial information from the Sasmuan police, Salvador said a man wearing a mask stabbed Angeles in the chest while the victim was brisk walking with a companion at around 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

The suspect, who remained unidentified, reportedly fled the scene on motorcycle driven by an accomplice.

A motive has yet to be determined but police are looking at a political angle in relation to the slain councilor's plan to run as vice mayor in the 2019 elections.

Salvador also said police got hold of CCTV footage of the attack while Angeles' family had agreed to have him undergo an autopsy.

Based on initial investigation, Salvador said the suspect may have planned the attack and appeared to have knowledge of Angeles' daily routine.

"Lumalabas po na pinagplanuhan 'to dahil siguro alam niya ang routine niya na nagbi-brisque walking du'n sa lugar na 'yon," the police director said.

An Unang Balita report on Tuesday said CCTV footage showed the two suspects riding a motorcycle in tandem prior to the knife attack.

Another footage also captured a white SUV which the two allegedly boarded after stabbing Jesus Angeles, a municipal councilor planning to run for vice mayor.

The two abandoned their motorcycle.

Authorities also said witnesses have surfaced to help investigators, even as the Highway Patrol Group has been tapped to help trace the owners of the motorcycle and the SUV. — MDM, GMA News