A barangay captain was shot dead in Buenavista town last Tuesday while the wife of a barangay captain in Mabini died after she was bitten by a cobra in another incident. The fatality in Buenavista was identified as one Lamich Tatoy, 64, married and barangay captain of Pantoan in the said town. Initial reports revealed that Tatoy was shot about 1:00 dawn last March 21.

The victim sustained a shotgun wound on his head. The medico-legal examination conducted by Dr. Romeo Aparece, Buenavista municipal health officer, showed that the bullet wound was caused by a Carbine rifle. Four empty Carbine shells were recovered by responding policemen at the crime scene.

Tatoy was believed sleeping when he was shot by the still unidentified suspect. Prior to the incident, the victim figured in a heated argument with his wife. Since the wife left for Manila prior to the shooting, the police looked into this angle in the shooting. Insp. Epifanio Acojedo, Buenavista PNP chief, however noted that the victim's wife along with one of their children immediately returned to Buenavista after learning of the killing. Another angle being looked into by probers is the victim's rumored liaisons with other women.

The victim's womanizing, which was often the cause of quarrels between him and his wife, is being eyed as another possible motive because this has angered neighbors and other people. Acojedo, in a talk with Station DyTR, stressed that they still have not established the identity and motive of the suspect at this time since no witness has come forward to give any testimony. Meanwhile, a 71-year-old grandmother died in Mabini after she was bitten by a Philippine cobra about 5 pm last March 22.

The victim was identified as one Juana Hotojot, a resident of Barangay Aguipo and wife of Barangay Captain Gregorio Hotojot. Police investigations revealed that the victim was only about eight meters outside the family residence when she was bitten by the snake, locally called banacon, which measured about four feet long and about a man's wrist in size.

In an interview with Station DyTR, PO1 Gerard Luna said the victim was immediately rushed to the clinic of Dr. Frisco Salang but was declared dead on arrival. The snake was subsequently killed by the barangay captain's companions. Luna, who has been assigned for less than a year in Mabini, said this is the third incident reported involving the banacon. This did not include the sighting of a snake in Barangay Abaca about the size of a container gallon that managed to flee after villagers chased it.