- The shooting incident occurs in broad daylight near the town hall
SARRAT, Ilocos Norte, Dec. 7, 2021–Riding-in-tandem gunmen assassinated Sanggunian Bayan member Apolonio Medrano of this town shortly after he attended the regular flag-raising ceremony held in front of the municipal hall on Monday morning, police officials reported.
SBM Medrano, 69, and nicknamed “Polon” was a retired police officer-turned politician. He was a former police intelligence officer in Region 1.
In a press briefing by the organized “Special Investigation Task Force Medrano,” P/Capt. Carlo Abing, the town police chief, said the shooting incident happened a few meters away from the Sarrat town hall while the victim was about to board his blue Mitsubishi Pajero service vehicle parked nearby.
Witnesses at the town hall rushed outside when they heard repeated gunfires and they saw the unidentified suspects flee the crime scene in a motorcycle, Captain Abing said.
The witnesses described the suspects as wearing black jackets but they failed to recognize the assailants’ faces, the police chief added.
He said that the bloodied victim was rushed to the nearest private hospital in Laoag City for emergency treatment but the attending doctor declared him dead on arrival.
The councilor, who was probably shot at close range, succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds in the different parts of the body.
Upon flash alarm to all adjacent PNP stations, police troopers quickly conducted a pursuit operation and sealed all possible exit points, he said. A manhunt is ongoing to track down the suspects, reports said.
Investigators said they are looking into all angles to determine the motive behind the killing of SBM Medrano. (multimedia report)
