By CONG B. CORRALES Associate Editor and NITZ ARANCON Correspondents THE Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) yesterday condemned the murder of one of its area coordinators in a hinterland barangay here even as one of its its local leaders said the attack was likely “politically motivated.” At 5:35 am on Sunday, Gomercindo Piloton, 49, was shot by three unidentified assailants while he was attending to his store in Sitio Manggahun, Barangay Bayanga, this city. Piloton succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds to the body. The suspects reportedly fled towards Talakag town in Bukidnon after the attack. Alex Paurom, one of the local PDP-Laban leaders, said his group investigated the deadly gun attack, and initial findings suggest that it was electionelated. But another PDP-Laban leader here, Gusa barangay chairman Marlo Tabac, said the group has yet to look into the shooting death. He said the party would send aid to the family of Piloton. Tabac added that they are currently discussing with their legal counsel, lawyer Rogelio Bagabuyo, if they should “insure” their area coordinators. “I have been instructed by Koko (PDP-Laban national president and Sen. Aquilino Martin Pimentel III) to look into the motive behind Piloton’s murder, and to verify and confirm this,” said Tabac. Piloton’s common law wife Elsie told police she recalled a young man argued with Piloton in their house a few days before the killing. The Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) said it was too early in the investigation to rule that the murder was an electionelated incident. Lumbia police chief Senior Insp. Dennis Ebsolo said investigators have yet to identify suspects and establish a motive for the killing. Senior Insp. Christian Caballes of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco) here said Piloton died of multiple gunshot wounds, and that investigators found six slugs from a caliber .45 pistol and a live bullet at the crime scene. Cocpo spokesperson Supt. Michael Deloso said their preliminary investigation show that Piloton was also involved in treasure hunting in the area, and that they were looking into this as a possible motive. “Muagi pa man naa og validation sa ERI (electionelated incident) Council that has been created in (Camp) Alagar,” said Deloso. In a statement, Pimentel urged the local police to exert serious efforts to bring the assailants to justice. “We demand justice for Piloton since we believe his muder is the direct offshoot of his work with the party as area coordinator,” Pimentel’s statement reads in part. Meanwhile, Paurom said the last time he saw Piloton was on Saturday when he instructed him to gather people from Bayanga so they could undergo a seminar for election watchers. He said Piloton was supposed to see him for the seminar in Patag on Sunday. The coordinator never showed up. Paurom said Piloton told him on Saturday night that some of the villagers who were supposed to serve as election workers already joined another political group. He said Piloton also complained of being followed by other political operators who succeeded in recruiting his recruits..