Capiz town administrator shot dead

The municipal administrator of Pilar town in Capiz province was shot dead on Sunday, May 2.

In a statement via Twitter, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said John Heredia was shot by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Barangay Lawa-an in the provincial capital of Roxas City on Sunday afternoon.

“The victim was about to board his vehicle when he was attacked,” added NUJP.

Heredia was the first and longest-sitting chairman of NUJP’s Capiz chapter. He was also a former member of NUJP’s national board of directors.

His wife, lawyer Cris Heredia, told local media that he was dead on arrival at the Capiz Doctors’ Hospital.

She also said they will await the results of the police investigation into his killing.

Heredia was the host and producer of public affairs program Abri-Aga of Alto Cable TV in Capiz in the late 2000s.

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) Panay chapter, in a statement, strongly condemned the shooting. “This is a monstrous crime that must be investigated promptly and properly so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice.”

NUPL-Panay also said Heredia’s wife and daughter had survived an ambush in September 2019.

The group then slammed the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte for the “impunity with which extrajudicial killings are being carried out” in the country.

“Under this administration, lives have, indeed, become so cheap as innocent people – activists, farmers, labor leaders, environmental defenders, and lawyers – are being murdered by the score,” NUPL-Panay said.

“These killings must end and the perpetrators and all those behind them must be held to account for these atrocities,” added the group. – Rappler.com