DOJ chief orders probe on slay of ex-mayor in Quezon

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Monday to investigate the killing of a former town mayor of Quezon province over the weekend. Radio dzBB's Teresa Tavares reported that Devanadera ordered NBI Director Nestor Mantaring to look into the motives behind former mayor David Emralino's killing, which happened just as he was coming out of the church shortly before noon Sunday. Like the slain Emralino, Devanadera is a former mayor of Quezon province. She said she served Sampaloc town from 1988 to 1997. She described Emralino, a former mayor of Candelaria town, as a "peace-loving" local executive. Emralino succumbed to gunshot wounds while undergoing treatment at the Lucena United Doctors Hospital, said Senior Superintendent Elmo Francis Sarona, chief of the Quezon Provincial Police Office. Initial investigation showed unidentified armed men shot Emralino while he was going out of a church in the town shortly before noon. The former mayor was hit in different parts of the body. Local police have formed a task force to identify the perpetrators and the motive behind the killing. - GMANews.TV