Councilor killed in gun attack

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – A retired cop-turned-councilor was shot dead by two unidentified men on a motorcycle at Barangay Villareal in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental on Tuesday.

Killed was Alex Tizon, 66, of the said village.

Police Colonel Julian Entoma, director of Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (Norppo), said Tizon was driving a sports utility vehicle (SUV) when the perpetrators shot him. He was alone when the shooting happened.

“The gunmen who were wearing helmets overtook his vehicle and shot him at close range,” Entoma added.

The victim succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds. Police recovered from the scene four fired cartridge cases of caliber .9mm ammunition.

Entoma said they are eyeing more than four perpetrators behind the ambush, including the spotters and other lookouts in the area.

Initially, police are eyeing Tizon’s work and politics as possible motives behind the attack.

Entoma said cases Tizon handled when he was still the police chief of Bayawan in the 90s might provide them with leads.

Tizon was reelected in the May 2019 elections, the provincial police director added.

Entoma said they are not discounting the possibility that a mastermind was behind the attack which may have been carried out by hired guns.

“We will identify the perpetrators first,” he added.

Norppo has created a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) that will handle the case.