A barangay chairwoman and her husband were shot dead by riding-in-tandem assailants morning on Thursday, December 5, 2024 in Dueñas town, Province of Iloilo.

The victims were identified as Barangay Santo Niño Chairwoman Michelle Lamela, 50 years old, and her husband, Rodney. They were shot to death in Barangay Tinucuan. 

Santo Niño Councilman Elly Lamatao, in an interview with GMA Super Radyo Iloilo, said that at  9:30 a.m. on December 5, 2024, he saw the couple on board a motorcycle. 

Lamatao said he was work-bound, while the couple was headed for the town proper.

He said that the couple went past him, but upon reaching Barangay Tinucuan, he saw that the motorcycle was already fallen on its side while the couple laid motionless on the ground, and bloodied.

Lamatao said that he knew the couple to be nice persons, and that there were no previous threats to the life of the punong barangay that he knew of.

He disclosed though that Lamela is a novice barangay chairman of Santo Niño.

Police Regional Office 6 Director, Police Brigadier General Jack Wanky, in a press conference said that they will look into the information gathered by personnel of the Dueñas Police Station and Scene of the Crime Operation. 

PB Gen. Wanky said angles have been assessed, Lamela being an incumbent barangay captain, while grudge is being investigated based on disclosure of the family of threats in relation to a 2008 incident that implicated Rodney in the death of a cop’s sibling. 

A hot-pursuit operation was launched to track down the perpetrators and establish their identities. CCTV footages have been collated to help provide leads toward the resolution of the case. 

It was further learned that Wanky and Iloilo Police Provincial Office Director, Police Colonel Bayani Razalan, arrived in Dueñas on December 5, 2024 to supervise personally the police forces.

(via MGFerrer, DEstante/GMA Super Radyo Iloilo)