Ilocos Norte town councilor, bodyguard and driver killed in pre-dawn ambush

BAGUIO CITY (October 26, 2024) -- A village chairman, sitting as an ex-officio member of the Sangguniang Bayan in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte and his bodyguard and driver were killed in a pre-dawn ambuscade along the national highway in front of a hotel in Barangay 22, San Guillermo, San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte.

Barangay 6 San Juan Bautista Chairman Mark Adrian P. Barba, and bodyguard --Raffy Ulep, 39, a villagemate of Barba -- and driver Lord Wyne Gian Menor, 26, from Barangay 12, San Cayetano, San Nicolas town, were northbound aboard a Toyota Innova AUV with plate number NDA 8116 when fired at by still unidentified suspects at around 2:45AM Saturday.

Barba’s driver, police said, lost control the vehicle and rammed unto a parked Toyota Fortuner SUV in front of the hotel.

Responding policemen rushed the victims to hospitals but Barba and Ulep were declared dead-on-arrival while Menor died while undergoing treatment from bullet wounds.

Crime scene probers are reportedly examining recovered empty shells of the still undisclosed firearm calibers.

Motive of the ambush are still being probed while closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages are being reviewed to identify the assassins.

Barba’s killing occurred more than a month after the slay of San Nicolas village chairman Francisco Bagay Jr., 45, of Barangay 5, San Silvestre on September 20, 2024.