A gun-for-hire group is being suspected for the killing of Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay Vice Mayor Restituto Calonge.
Police Regional Office IX director Police Brigadier General Ronnie Ylagan said the gunman and driver connected to the crime are alleged members of the Anwar Ansang criminal group.
Ylagan added that the group was doing gun-for-hire, piracy, and illegal drugs operations.
Former Vice Mayor Calonga was having a conversation with municipal engineer Edgar Pampanga, employee Hadji Gapor Abduhari and former Sangguniang Panlalawigan member and retired police officer Gregorio Baya Cenas near the municipal hall in Poblacion when a suspect approached them from behind at around 3:05 p.m. Friday.
Using a caliber .45 pistol, both Calonge and Pampanga were shot to death at close range.
Gapor, on the other hand, survived and is now recuperating at a hospital for treatment while Cenas had superficial wounds.
According to reports, the suspect was identified as Er Er Mangoda who escaped riding a Black XRM motorcycle driven by a Jomar Taiting who currently has a warrant of arrest for murder.
Seven fired cartridge cases of a caliber .45 pistol and a slug were recovered from the crime scene.
The PNP has already initiated hot pursuit operations against the suspects. No motive for the killings has been establised. Ronald dela Cruz