Staff of Antipolo Rep. Gatlabayan wounded in shooting incident

The driver of Antipolo City, Rizal Representative and mayoralty bet Angelito Gatlabayan was wounded in a shooting incident early Monday morning over a squabble regarding the removal of the candidate's campaign posters, a television report said. GMA News’ Dano Tingcungco, in a report on QTV’s Balitanghali, identified the driver as Hermenegilio Traseño. He was grazed when a bullet hit his jacket. Gatlabayan is challenging incumbent Mayor Danilo Leyble for the mayoralty post. According to Gatlabayan, he and his staff noticed that some men were removing his campaign posters at around about 3 a.m. and policemen nearby were not doing anything to stop them, the report said. The policemen covered their faces and removed their nameplates when Gatlabayan’s staff approached them. Later in the day, Gatlabayan’s staff went to the congressman’s plastic factory after receiving reports that his posters and streamers were being removed from the area. On their way to the factory, they noticed that a streamer was being taken down at a nearby school. Shooting erupted when Gatlabayan’s staff tried to stop the men from removing the streamer, and Traseño was wounded in the incident. The suspects fled the scene. Gatlabayan’s staff was reportedly refused entry when they tried to report the incident at the Antipolo City police station. They also noticed that the vehicle the suspects used was parked near the police station, but when questioned, the police accused the the congressman's staff of destroying the police vehicles instead, the report said. Gatlabayan is considering the filing of charges against Antipolo City policemen, particularly those who supposedly protected the men taking down his campaign posters. In a separate interview on Balitanghali, Philippine National Police spokesperson Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina said: “PNP chief [Director General Jesus] Verzosa has ordered the investigation on the incident. This is presently being investigated by the regional director Chief Superintendent Rolly Añonueva." - Sophia Dedace/YA, GMANews.TV