Pangasinan mayoral bet's bodyguard behind shooting of Comelec exec – police

An alleged bodyguard of a mayoral candidate in Sta. Maria town, Pangasinan province has been identified as a suspect in the shooting of Commission on Elections official Juanito Villalba last Wednesday. In a statement, Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) "Villalba" identified the suspect as Eusebio Batawag Ventura, 43, a resident of Barangay San Patricio of Sta. Maria town. "It was learned that Ventura is a security escort of one of the mayoralty candidates in said town," the statement read. The SITG did not name the mayoral candidate Ventura is supposedly working for. GMANews.TV called Region 1 police headquarters but the calls were left unanswered. Police Superintendent Michael Nicolas, SITG head, said Ventura was apprehended after Villalba allegedly identified him as his assailant, adding that law enforcers are set to file frustrated murder charges against the suspect “anytime within the day." Villalba was shot on Wednesday by suspects riding in tandem on a motorcycle. Police said he sustained a lone gunshot wound in the lower back portion of his body. He is in stable condition but still confined at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Urdaneta City. It was not clear if the incident was an election-related incident, as the police have yet to establish the motive behind the shooting. – Aie Balagtas See/JV, GMANews.TV