Isabela poll supervisor shot dead in hotel

A provincial election supervisor in Isabela province was shot dead inside a hotel before dawn on Saturday. Radio dzRH reported that Michael Valdez succumbed to three gunshot wounds after two guests at the hotel he was managing in Tumauini town shot him. Tumauini is a first-class town with a population of 55,041 people in 9,239 households. Isabela police chief Senior Superintendent Jimmy Rivera said their initial findings showed the suspects used cal-.45 pistols in killing Valdez. The incident occurred past 5 a.m. at the County Estate Hotel managed by the victim. Initial investigation showed the two assailants, who police did not immediately name, checked in at the hotel before the incident. Shortly after 5 a.m., the two knocked on the door of Valdez's room, and shot him when he opened the door. Later in the day, Isabela Governor Grace Padaca issued an official statement denouncing the killing as "one of the first, if not the first" major crime in the province that might be related to the 2010 elections. Padaca felt a "strong suspicion" that the killing was related to earlier election-related crimes that continue to remain unsolved, including the 2004 burning of the municipal towns of San Mariano and Jones, Isabela, in an apparent attempt to destroy election returns. The governor also reiterated an earlier call for Rivera's relief, citing his "utter disregard" toward her and other local government officials' complaints over the police officer's alleged unprofessionalism. In June, Padaca wrote to PNP Dir. Gen. Jesus Verzosa about Rivera's "apathy and lack of action" concerning provincial affairs. "I am deeply concerned about how things will turn out if the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the PNP leadership continue to downplay or even ignore the situation," Padaca warned. - GMANews.TV