Gunmen kill Arroyo kin in Arayat, Pampanga

A barangay chairman in Arayat, Pampanga who is a relative of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was shot dead Tuesday morning by two unidentified motorcycle-riding men. Senior Superintendent Delfin Respicio, Arayat chief of police, said that at about 8 a.m., two men wearing helmets went to Telapayong village and shot 60-year old Ludencio Macapagal Galang. Investigators said the village chief went to the area to inspect a community construction project. The victim was brought to Arayat District Hospital and died there. Four slugs from a caliber .45 hand gun were recovered at the crime scene, the police said. Respicio said the incident could have stemmed from a land dispute between Galang and the brains behind his killing. He said Galang was accused of masterminding the murder of one of the members of a rival political party in Pampanga last April 2006. Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey" Arroyo confirmed that Galang was their relative. He said the First Family has extended its condolences to the family of Galang. Arroyo urged the police to immediately conduct a thorough investigation of the incident and identify the perpetrators of the crime. - AMITA LEGASPI, GMANews.TV