The Manila Police District (MPD) reported that a former village chief was found dead last Monday morning in the Manila North Green Park Cemetery in Sta. Cruz with a gunshot wound to his forehead.

Patrolman Butch Baladjay of the MPD Homicide Section identified the victim as Bernardo Gabriel, a former chairman of Barangay 16 and a resident of Tondo, Manila.

Police said that two construction workers identified as Manuel Santos and Napoleon Roberos discovered Gabriel’s body inside Cluster B, Building 2 of the cemetery. They reported finding him lying bloodied with a gunshot wound on the left side of his temple while they were working on the second-floor stairs.

Santos told police they heard a loud gunshot, investigated, and then reported the discovery to building security.

A .45 caliber pistol with three live rounds remaining in the magazine was found beside Gabriel’s body. The body was taken to St. Peter Funeral Homes.

Police investigators are conducting a deeper probe to determine if foul play was involved and to ascertain the motive behind the apparent suicide.