Southern Leyte PNP head assures; Killing of barangay chief to be investigated

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Southern Leyte Provincial Police  Office Director Senior Superintendent Warren de Leon has vowed to conduct a parallel investigation with the National Bureau of Investigation-Region 8 into the killing of a barangay chairman in Tomas Oppus town.

This came a week after Barangay Chairman Celso Torion of Barangay Hinagtican in Tomas Oppus was gunned down by riding-in-tandem assailants at nearby Barangay Looc, also of this town, in the evening of October 19.

The family of the slain Torion had complained over the slow action of the Tomas Oppus Police and their “unfair treatment” in responding to the incident, and had wondered why this was so even if it was a crime committed against a public official.

Nerissa, the 23-year-old daughter of the victim had accused the policemen of Tomas Oppus town to have only responded three days after his father’s murder.

“Masakit talaga. Kahit na ang kanilang hot line ay nakasarado. Imagine pumunta lang ang mga police sa bahay namin after three days. That was the time we lost our trust to the police in our town,” the crying Nerissa said, adding that the family had to go to Tacloban City to ask for help from the NBI-8 here. 

Nerissa revealed that his father was a known political ally of the incumbent Mayor Nene Escano for the past 40 years but—during the May 9 elections—he supported another mayoralty candidate and it was then that he started to receive death threats, which were also recorded in the police blotter.

Even if the motive of the killing of Torion has yet to be established yet, Nerissa said the family was certain that it had something to do with politics. “Malakas ang kutob namin na politika ang motibo sa pagpatay ng tatay ko, that is why we are here in the NBI asking it to step into the case,” she said.

Last Wednesday (October 19), several barangay chairmen of  Tomas Oppus and the family of the slain Torion traveled to Tacloban and asked the help of the NBI-8 on the case, so that justice will be served finally.

Four of the barangay chairmen who accompanied Torion’s widow to the NBI-8 in Tacloban—but requested not to be named due to fear for their lives—said a local politician resented it when the victim and several other barangay chairmen did not support him. They said the politician also threatened the barangay chiefs, who in turn were prompted to report the threats to the police.

“We came here to the NBI regional office to seek justice for the family for the death of Barangay Chariman Celso Torion, as we feel there is no justice in our town, because we are PDP Laban members,” the barangay officials told local reporters.

Torion was shot twice—in front of his 8-year-old son—by two men riding on a blue motorcycle. He was hit on the forehead and on the left side of his body.

De Leon, for his part, issued a reassurance to the family and the barangay officials that the police should never be biased and will always give a fair conduct of the investigation over Torion’s death.

He further appealed to the family of the victim to send a letter to his office, so that action will be taken immediately on the incident and on their request to have Senior Inspector Rolando Paloma, chief of the Tomas Oppus Police, be relieved from the post.

“Kailangan meron akong pinaghahawakan na reklamo, so we can investigate and take actions. Rest assured we are not going to tolerate any wrongdoing from our policemen in the field,” de Leon added. (FREEMAN)