Truck with followers of Abra mayoral bet strafed

Two motorcycle-riding men shot up on Friday a truck carrying supporters of a mayoralty bet in Tineg town in Abra, a GMA News report said. GMA News’ John Consulta reported that the truck carrying sacks of rice and supporters of Tineg mayoralty candidate Edwin Crisologo Sr. was fired upon by two armed men while at the boundary of San Juan and Tineg towns at past 10 a.m. Friday. No one was hurt during the shooting incident, the report said.
The police have yet to determine the motive behind the shooting, but elements of the Abra Provincial Police have already vowed to tighten up security in the province after successive incidents of violence were reported in the area. In past local elections, Tineg town has been hotly contested between the Crisologo and Benwaren clans. This year, the other mayoralty candidates, aside from Crisologo, include Lenin Benwaren, Cromwell Seares Luna, and Roberto Magbanua Valencia. Crisologo is running under the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP), while Lenin Benwaren carries the Liberal Party flag. Last Thursday, a supporter of Ryan Luna, another mayoralty bet in the province’s capital town of Bangued, was killed in a shootout allegedly involving the incumbent mayor, Dominic Valera. (See: Abra town mayor tagged in slay of rival's follower) Abra has been a declared an election “hot spot" for the May polls due to instances of violence in the area between feuding political families, as well as the prevalence of private armed groups.—JV, GMANews.TV