By BEN SERRANO
Correspondent
BUTUAN City–Still unidenti-fied gunmen shot and killed a candidate for councilor outside a barangay gym of Macopa, San Francisco, Surigao del Norte, on Sunday.
Authorities identified the victim as Ernesto Retorta, 55, a father of seven.
Retorta was a former barangay chairman of Macopa, and was seeking a seat in the town council under the Liberal Party.
Lt. Col. Rey Pasco, commander of the Civil Military Office of the 4th Infantry Division, said the victim just came from the barangay gym where he attended a Valentine’s Day party when he was attacked while on his way home.
Retorta succumbed to 14 gunshot wounds all over, police said.
Surigao del Norte Gov. Sol Matugas said she suspected Retorta’s killing was politically motivated.
“Our ally may have accumulated so much information against a local opposition candidate,” reads a statement released by the Partido Padajon-LP.
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