Cebu City (CNN Philippines) — A barangay captain in the northern town of Tabogon in Cebu province sustained injuries when he scampered for safety after gunmen fired shots in front of his house Sunday morning (May 8).
Somosa barangay captain Andrew Nolasco, however, was unharmed but sustained bruises and wounds when he rolled on the ground at the back of his house for safety. His companions also ran away after hearing the shots.
Nolasco is supporting the opposition candidate challenging incumbent Tabogon Mayor Zigfred Duterte.
Nolasco was meeting some election watchers at 10 a.m. when two men armed with high-powered guns fired at Nolasco and his companions.
They believe the gunmen were sent by the camp of Mayor Duterte.
The two unidentified gunmen fled toward Bogo City aboard a motorcycle.
In the southern town of Dumanjug, there were reports of a strafing incident in front of the house of incumbent Mayor Nelson Garcia shortly before 10 p.m. on Sunday.
One of those wounded is a relative of a One Cebu Party candidate aligned with the Garcias.
Garcia pointed to his political opponents as the ones behind the strafing incident.
The police, however, are still investigating the shooting incidents. It has yet to be proven whether these were related to the elections.
Most of the information about the shooting incidents are snippets of the initial report received by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Cebu City.
The local town police in Tabogon has refused to release information on the incident until cleared by the station police chief and the election officer.
Aside from those two incidents, the other areas of Cebu province, including those towns under the Election Watchlist Areas, have remained peaceful.
The vote counting machines have been delivered to the schools on Sunday night.
More than 900 augmentation policemen from the Philippine Nation Police Regional Office in Central Visayas were sent to the towns to help in securing the elections.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command based in Cebu City has also sent some of their soldiers to the towns.
Police presence has also been increased in Tuburan town where a shooting incident happened a few days ago.
The augmentation force in the towns are part of the more than 1,500 policemen scattered around the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor for the elections.
