THREE WINNERS. Rep. Rolando Uy (First District, Cagayan de Oro City, left) and his son, Vice Mayor Joaquin Uy (right), flank Mayor Oscar Moreno as they pray during their inaugural at the Freedom Kiosk in Cagayan de Oro City on Friday (1 July 2016). MindaNews file photo by Froilan Gallardo
CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 11 November) – An unidentified gunman shot dead a son of incumbent Cagayan de Oro 1st District Rep. Rolando Uy at the family-owned quarry in Zone 1, Barangay Pagatpat on Thursday.
City Police spokesperson Major Evans Viñas said Roland Sherwin Uy, 45, was instantly killed when the gunman shot him in the left eye while he was sitting on a folding chair.
Uy was a councilor of Barangay Carmen, the village with the largest number of population in the city.
Viñas said after the gunman shot Uy, he also fired at the caretaker identified as Samuel Tabalan, 75. The bullet hit Tabalan in the right eye instantly killing him.
He said the assailant left the scene aboard a motorcycle driven by an unidentified accomplice.
It was the first time that a child of a prominent local politician was killed, leaving the city abuzz with speculations.
Rep. Uy, the victim’s father, is the frontrunner in the mayoral race in the 2022 elections.
His opponents had alleged that his name was included in the list of suspected drug lords prepared by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Local broadcaster Zaldy Ocon, a political opponent, had accused the younger Uy as a user of shabu (crystal meth).
Rep. Uy repeatedly denied the accusation and even showed pictures of him with the President taken on several occasions.
Viñas said police investigators are looking into the angle that the killings have something to do with the rivalry of quarry operations in Pagatpat, which is the major source of sand and gravel in the city.
He said that before shooting Uy the gunman approached the victim asking for the price of sand and gravel.
“After the victim answered with the price, the gunman reportedly pulled out his gun and began shooting,” Viñas said citing witnesses.
But Viñas added that “while we’re investigating the quarry angle, we are not discounting the possibility that this is the first election related violence in the city.”
Uy’s driver identified as Rubue Alayuay, who was spared because he hid inside a toilet, told reporters he heard shots after the victim replied to the gunman.
Alayuay told police he heard a motorcycle sped away after the shooting. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)
