Former Mayor Luis Mondia Jr., 53, of Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, was shot at close range as he was leaving the Jaro Cathedral in Iloilo City at about 6:45 last night, with his wife, Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, Western Visayas police operations chief, said.
Mondia is running for mayor of Pulupandan against incumbent Mayor Magdaleno Peña, fueling speculation that the shooting could have been politically motivated.
Mondia was rushed to the Iloilo Mission Hospital accompanied by his wife, Evelinda. He remained unconscious and was still in critical condition as of press time, De la Paz said.
The couple had just attended an Ash Wednesday mass and the former mayor was about to enter his red Mazda pickup when a gunman armed with .45 caliber pistol fired at him, hitting him in the left shoulder and the nape, Chief Inspector Orly Gabinete, Jaro police station chief, said.
Radio reports said he was also hit in the head and that the shot to the nape affected his spinal column but no official confirmation could be made as of press time.
The gunman then escaped on board a blue XRM motorcycle driven by his waiting companion towards the back of the Jaro Cathedral, Gabinete added.
He said a civilian volunteer and numerous other persons witnessed the shooting.
The gunman wearing a white T-shirt was described to be about 5 feet 6 inches to 7 inches in height, chubby faced and moreno in color, while his companion on the waiting motorcycle was about 5 feet 4 inches to 5 inches in height and wearing a blue shirt according to witnesses, Gabinete said.
Recovered from the scene of the incident were three fired empty shells from a .45 caliber pistol, De la Paz said.
Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas, PNP regional director, immediately ordered the creation of Special Investigation Task Group Mondia headed by De la Paz to oversee the investigation and pursuit of the suspects.
Mondia had filed his Certificate of Candidacy on Nov. 30 to run for mayor of Pulupandan against Peña, who defeated his brother Samson Mondia for the mayorship in 2007.
His sister, Gina Mondia Villanueva, 43, also filed her COC to run for vice mayor against Pena’s brother-in-law incumbent Vice Mayor Antonio Suatengco.
Shortly after the 2007 polls, Peña was ambushed in Pulupandan but survived with injuries. Two of his bodyguards were killed. The New People’s Army claimed responsibility for the ambush, but Peña charged the Mondia brothers for it. The Mondias denied involvement in the attempt on Peña’s life.
Peña last night denied speculations that he was behind the shooting of Luis Mondia. He said he hopes Mondia would get well soon as he does not want the coming election to be “boring”.
Samson Mondia last night said he would not issue a statement on the shooting of his brother.
The police and COMELEC had earlier placed Pulupandan on their watchlist for having a history of having hotly contested polls. - Carla Gomez
Source: Daily Star
