CAMP FLORENDO, San Fernando City, La Union — A bodyguard of a mayoral candidate has been identified as the suspect in the shooting of Commission on Elections (Comelec) official Juanito Villalba last Wednesday in Sta. Maria, Pangasinan, police said Friday.

The Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) “Villalba,” earlier formed to probe the shooting of Villalba, identified the suspect as Eusebio Batawag Ventura, 43, of Barangay San Patricio, Sta. Maria town. It was learned that Ventura is a security escort of one of the mayoral candidates in the town.

Ventura has voluntarily submitted himself for paraffin test at the Crime Laboratory Office in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan. He remains under the custody of the Sta. Maria Police Station.

Superintendent Michael Nicolas, head of SITG “Villalba,” said the victim, in an ante-mortem statement, disclosed that he recognized the face of his assailant as that of a certain “Ventura.”

An operation was conducted and Ventura was summoned to the Sta. Maria Police Station.

Meanwhile, Villalba is now in stable condition and remains confined at the Sacred Heart Hospital, also in Urdaneta City.

Villalba sustained a lone gunshot wound in the lower back portion of his body after he was allegedly shot by the suspects riding tandem on a motorcycle at around 5 p.m. Wednesday.