Irate wife An angry Lalaine Yuson, wife of slain Masbate vice mayor Richard Yuson shows a photo of the suspect arrested by police who she claims is a former driver and bodyguard of PCSO board member Sandra Cam

Following the recent gruesome murder of Batuan, Masbate Vice Mayor Charlie Yuson III, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office board member Sandra Cam yesterday denied involvement in the ambush incident.

In a statement, Cam stressed that she had nothing to do with the ambush and noted that she was only being dragged into the slay incident as her son, Marco Martin Cam, lost to the victim’s son Charmax Jan Yuson in the 2019 mayoral election in Batuan town.

“It is so unfair that our family is being dragged into this. We’ve moved on from that election,” said Cam, who also expressed condolences to the grieving family of Yuson.

Meanwhile, she called on the Manila Police District (MPD) to “dig deeper into possible motives in the ambush and identify the mastermind.”

To recall, Yuson was gunned down while having breakfast in Sampaloc, Manila on Wednesday. Two others were wounded in the incident and police said they already have four suspects in their custody.

In a separate interview, MPD’s homicide section chief Cpt. Henry Navarro said investigators are looking into whether or not politics is connected to the fatal shooting of the vice mayor.

Five of the Yusons’ supporters were killed in the lead-up to the elections, Navarro said, quoting information from relatives.

“That is one of the angles we are looking at. We have yet to receive the actual and sworn statements of the witnesses, so that issue will be concrete,” said Navarro, who noted that authorities are also coordinating with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to check if Yuson was included in the watchlist.

“That’s just additional information for us. We are not saying that the shooting was connected to illegal drugs because there are so many possible angles or motives,” he said.

Yuson was in Manila to buy a backhoe for his province and visit his brother, who is a barangay chairman in Sampaloc, said the MPD official.

Six witnesses saw one of the suspects get off from the van, but said they could not identify his facial features because it was covered by a mask and could only describe his built and height.

Yuson’s assassination was “well planned,” judging by the high-caliber firearms used by the suspects, Navarro explained.

A companion of the vice mayor was hit by a stray bullet during the attack while another suffered scratches. Both are now in “stable condition.”