Sleeping barangay captain shot dead on birthday in Iloilo

By Jenifer P. Rendon

A village official was shot dead on Feb. 26 — his birthday.

An unknown gunman allegedly shot Barangay Captain Richard Sapalo early Thursday morning inside his house in San Joaquin, Iloilo.

It was believed that Sapalo, a resident of Ginot-an, a village 15 kilometers from San Joaquin town proper, had been dead for a few hours when his daughter found his body.

Ma. Asunzie told police investigators that she heard gunfire around 2:30 a.m. Thursday but ignored it, thinking that it was just some random sound.

Three hours later, she checked on her father sleeping in the adjacent room and found him lifeless.

Capt. Isagani Tabares, San Joaquin police chief, said Sapalo sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest.

Tabares said they have a possible person of interest behind the incident.

It appeared that the lone gunman entered the house and barged into Sapalo’s room.

“But we couldn’t ascertain for now if the gunman has companions,” Tabares said.

He did not go into details about the probable motive behind the killing.

Meanwhile, Barangay Kagawad Lilibeth Locsin recounted an incident that happened on New Year’s Eve.

Members of the barangay council were greeting each other “Happy New Year” over the handheld radio at around 11 p.m. on Dec. 31 when an unfamiliar voice butted in.

The man allegedly quipped, “Condolence kay Kap nyo.”

Locsin said they had no idea who it was.

Marie Momla, Sapalo’s older sister, said they knew about the “Condolence Kap” greeting, which they treated as a death threat against the victim.

She added that her brother did not deserve the brutal way his life was cut short.

San Joaquin is a coastal municipality in the southern tip of Iloilo province. Barangay captains, also known as punong barangay, serve as the chief executives of the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and are often the front-line local officials in their communities.