*BY LEIZLE BASA IÑIGO*
A former Apayao town mayor was shot dead Tuesday night by unidentified gunmen while drinking with friends inside a restaurant in Poblacion West, municipality of Flora.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) identified the victim as former Flora Mayor Richard de San Jose.
According to initial police report, the former mayor was having a drinking spree with his friends inside a restaurant when he was shot at close range.
According to some witnesses, two men in camouflage outfits approached De San Jose and suddenly shot him in the back.
The suspects fled after the shooting.
De San Jose was pronounced dead on arrival at the Flora District Hospital.
It was learned that De San Jose also served as vice mayor of the town. He was an indigenous people representative in the town’s Sangguniang Bayan at the time of his death. (Liezle Basa Inigo)
