CEBU CITY – A special task group has been formed to investigate the gun attack on a police officer and his wife, a party-list nominee, in this city on Sunday night.
Police Lt. Col. Chuck Barandog sustained 11 gunshot wounds after motorcycle-riding assailants gunned down at his vehicle, which was marked with STL party-list stickers.
Yvonne Candia-Barandog, who is the STL party-list first nominee, was shot in the rib during the incident at Barangay Mabolo.
Cebu City Police Office spokesperson Police Lt. Col. Maria Therese Macatangay said the task force will expedite the arrest of the perpetrators.
Authorities are looking into work, politics, and personal relations of the victims as the motive for the crime.
“We are really looking at various angles because the victim is an active police officer,” said Mactangay, adding that Barandog could be the main target of the suspects, citing the number of wounds he sustained.
As of posting time, the victims were still recovering at the hospital.
Another police officer, Police SSgt. Estipen Padillo, was in the car with the victims and survived.
“It was a friend of theirs who also went to the event of STL party-list supporters and rode with them,” said Macatangay.
She said the police will ask for CCTV footage near the crime scene.
Authorities are also looking into Barandog’s presence in Cebu despite his recent transfer to the personal holding unit of Camp Crame in Quezon City last month.
“We will know if it is official business or not,” said Macatangay.
Barandog used to head of Cebu City’s mobile force company. He had been formally accused by former mayor Tomas Osmeña of harassing the latter's supporters during the 2019 midterm elections.
Meanwhile, Cania-Barandog was a former barangay chairman of Calamba, Cebu City and also served as administrator of the locality's medical center. – Report from Annie Perez
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