BANGUED, Abra – Three people, including a barangay chairman and a kagawad, were shot by unidentified gunmen in separate incidents in Bangued and Dolores, Abra.
On Wednesday (April 27), around 5:55 p.m., barangay captain Ronnie Bringas, 45, of Barangay Angad, Bangued, Abra was shot while on his way to the barangay’s covered court to watch a basketball game.
While the victim was walking, the suspect, wearing a black jacket, black cap and black tube mask, suddenly appeared and shot him.
The suspect fled on a motorcycle but fell on the side of the road. For fear of getting caught, the suspect left the motorcycle and ran away from the area towards Barangay Lipcan.
Some bystanders allegedly tried to block the suspect but they were given warning shots.
Three days later, on April 29 (Friday), two more individuals died after being shot by unidentified gunmen in Dolores town as violence started to escalate, with less than two weeks before the national elections.
Fermin Balmaceda Pilor Jr., 65, a councilor in Barangay Cordona, Dolores, and his friend Rumualdo Amano, were happily eating outside the former’s house in Sitio Abagatan when an unidentified gunman suddenly came in the open and shot them.
Balmaceda and his friend died on the spot.
Pilor's wife and son, who were inside the house, survived the attack.