By: Jaimie Rose R. Aberia
Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has ordered the arrest of the suspects in the killing of a “very competent” barangay chairman in Tondo, the fifth barangay chief downed in the city this year.
Estrada also expressed his condolences to the family of Arnel Parce, 47, chairman of Barangay 20, Zone 2, whom he personally knows.
“He’s very qualified. He’s very industrious and down to earth. The barangay chairman was very competent,” Estrada said.
Whenever there is a fire in his community, Estrada recounted that Parce would always seek his help to assist the displaced families, asking for construction materials that the fire victims could use to rebuild their houses.
“He always had his heart for his constituents,” Estrada said.
Parce was shot dead Wednesday night while talking with three men on San Roque Street. A closed circuit television (CCTV) camera captured the moment when a motorcycle drove up and the back rider alighted and fired shots at him.
When Parce fell to the ground, a speech-impaired barangay employee identified as Christopher Balotinos, alias “Pipi, rushed to the attacker and grappled with him for the gun as the other witnesses fled.
The gunman, however, still managed to escape. Pipi was brought to a hospital for a gunshot wound in the shoulder.
Village watchman Danny Bohol told police that Parce had been receiving death threats because of his stern anti-drug campaign.
Supt. Santiago Pascual, chief of the MPD Station 2, said they have recovered from the crime scene a .45-caliber “Shooters” pistol.
Parce was the 5th barangay chairman slain in Manila since January.