Colleagues condemn Isabela village chief’s murder

ILAGAN, Isabela – Members of the Liga ng mga Barangay (Barangay League) in Angadanan town of Isabela province condemned the recent gruesome killing of their colleague Hector Galutera, 33, barangay chairman of San Roque village. In a statement, Arnold Pastor, municipal barangay federation president, called on the authorities to immediately unmask the identities of the criminals behind the murder of Galutera. “We cannot think of any reason behind our colleagues murder; he has no known enemies, either official or personal. We condemn this senseless killing in the strongest terms," said Pastor, adding that Galutera’s slaying created anxiety among other officials in the town as the incident may also happen to anyone of them. Galutera was shot dead by one of the two motorcycle-riding suspects along the municipal road in barangay Macalaoag in Ilagan town at around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday while he and one of his councilmen, Johnny Ramos, were on their way to the town’s poblacion to attend a seminar. Senior Superintendent Dominador Aquino, provincial police director, said his men investigating the incident have identified several suspects. Reports say that Galutera was the 5th village chief to be slain in the province, and the 12th in the whole Cagayan Valley region this year. Floro Taguinod, GMANews.TV