Bizman killed; mayor, two others injured
A businessman was killed following a shooting binge that also injured a town mayor and two others at Badilla St., Banate, Iloilo very recently.
Carmelino Bachoco of Brgy. Talokgangan, Banate succumbed to at least eight gunshot wounds on different parts of his body.
The incident left Banate Mayor Carlos Cabangal, his son Carl Jerson, and Bachoco’s companion, Rally Beljira, wounded.
According to reports, at around 10:35 in the evening of December 25, Cabangal, together with his sons Carl Jerson and Peter Paul, saw Bachoco and Beljira.
According to Cabangal, they went to the direction of Bachoco to clarify some things.
Reports had it that the town mayor claimed that he wanted to ask the victim why the latter used to throw an intent stare at his son, Carl Jerson.
“According to Mayor Cabangal, three meters before they reached Bachoco, the latter pulled a gun and indiscriminately fired it,” said Banate Police Station commander Senior Insp. Herbert Ballego.
After sometime, another burst of gunfire was heard.
Ballego said that they immediately responded to the crime scene since it is only about 250 meters from the police station.
When they arrived at the area, they saw the injured victims.
Immediately, they rushed Cabangal and his two sons, Bachoco, and Beljira, to Don Ramon Tugbang Memorial Hospital and to Barotac Viejo District Hospital.
Later, the victims were all transferred to Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital where Bachoco was pronounced dead on arrival.
A post-mortem examination revealed that the businessman suffered eight gunshot wounds.
Police authorities are yet to reveal the autopsy result on Bachoco.
Meanwhile, Cabangal suffered a splinter wound on his leg. Carl Jerson sustained a lone injury on his left while Peter Paul’s pants bore a bullet hole. On the other hand, Beljira suffered a gunshot injury on his stomach. He already underwent surgery.
“Our investigation is still going on. So far, we only heard of Mayor Cabangal’s side,” Ballego said. “Maybe, after the surgery, Beljira could tell us what he saw and knew about what happened.”
Further, a ballistic test will also be conducted on the recovered empty shells.
During the incident, it was gathered that the Cabangals claimed they did not carry any firearm. It was not known, though, if any gun was licensed in their names.
When asked, Cabangal also denied knowing who fired the gun.
As this developed, police investigators said that they would initially consider all those at the crime scene, and even Cabangal, as possible suspects.
No Politics
Initially, police don’t saw politics in the incident as Bachoco is not known to be partisan. He used to be into palay-buying business.
Prior to his death, Bachoco is into gamefowl breeding.
