Isabela town mayor set up, gunned down in QC restaurant

Masked gunmen gunned down an Isabela town mayor, brazenly running after him as he tried to hide inside a restaurant in Quezon City late Tuesday, police said.

Ilagan Mayor Delfinito Albano was driving his Isuzu Trooper along Scout Santiago street when three gunmen in a white Toyota Revo blocked his way and opened fire on his vehicle, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Superintendent Nicasio Radovan said.

Albano was able to survive the initial volley of automatic gunfire and ran from the van.

Witnesses added the three gunmen, one of them armed with an MP5 submachine gun, gave chase to Albano who ran inside nearby Cafe Estela in Scout Lascano street to seek cover.

One of the assailants coolly reloaded his MP5, discarding the empty clip on the pavement before he followed the mayor inside.

"We just heard shots and we all hid. There were so many shots, like from an automatic weapon," said Judy Jalanga, an employee of the restaurant.

Albano, who belonged to a member of a prominent family in Isabela, died instantly from multiple gunshot wounds in the body, police said.

Initial reports said the mayor sustained at least 20 gunshot wounds.

Rodolfo Albano, chairman of the Energy Regulatory Commission and half-brother of the slain mayor, said it was difficult to say if politics was behind the ambush.

"In the Ilagan elections, he had no close rival," said the former Isabela congressman.

"Our family demand justice, we have no known enemies. We are leaving it to the police to solve the crime," he added.

The 48-year-old mayor left Isabela last Thursday to visit the ERC chairman in the hospital. He was supposed to return to Isabela yesterday.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao ordered a manhunt for the killers and a thorough investigation. Police are looking into a number of motives, including political and personal vendettas.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also said it would conduct a parallel investigation into the ambush.

Acting NBI director Nestor Mantaring ordered regional director Ruel Lasala to take charge of the probe and coordinate with the police in the investigation.

Initial investigation showed Albano was on his way to his townhouse in San Juan to rest when he got a text message that prompted him to change course.

Investigators said they are looking into the possible involvement of the person who sent the text message.

"It was well planned, with the assassins apparently having an idea where the mayor was heading," Radovan said.

Albano was wearing shorts, a blue T-shirt and slippers when he was ambushed.

Superintendent James Brillantes, QCPD intelligence chief, said the license plates attached to the Toyota Revo (XJM-532) used by the gunmen belonged to a Toyota RAV-4 registered to Victoria Liwanag, of San Beda Village, Project 6, Quezon City.

A brother of the owner, Benjie Liwanag, reportedly used the vehicle to play basketball at the Department of Agriculture gym last Tuesday afternoon.

Brillantes said the vehicle was parked unattended and the Liwanags later learned that the rear license plates of the van had been stolen.

Police found the RAV-4 van was parked at the owner’s residence yesterday.

PNP Crime Laboratory director Chief Superintendent Ernesto Belen said they recovered 41 9-mm. shells and an empty clip of an MP5 submachine gun.

Vendetta

Judging from the number of gunshot wounds the victim sustained, Lomibao added that investigators could only conclude vendetta triggered the killing.

"We are looking at the political angle and other motives," he told the dead mayor’s relatives when he visited the wake yesterday.

Lomibao confirmed the mayor received a call two hours before he was killed.

PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr. said investigators were also focusing on the lapses in Albano’s security arrangement.

He said investigators noted "it was not the first attempt on the mayor’s life."

"Checking the security arrangement will not only provide security but also strengthen security system of other people whose lives have been under threat," Pagdilao said.

Police questioned the mayor’s bodyguard, Ceneo Deray, to explain why he was not with him at the time he was ambushed.

Francisco Calimag, a cousin and another bodyguard of the mayor, said he wanted to accompany Albano but the mayor refused and insisted on driving alone.

Radovan, on the other hand, said homicide investigators already have a lead and are expected to identify the gunmen and the mastermind in a few days.

Although the ambush was well planned, Radovan said the gunmen were not professional killers since Albano’s attackers used so many bullets.

Albano, on his second term as Ilagan town mayor, had a reputation of being hard on drug traffickers.

A farmer at heart, Albano also opposed implementation of the Genetically Modified Corn (BT-corn) program in his town.

The feud between the agricultural company and the local government was so intense that at one time, Albano threatened to uproot the crops and sue the firm for defying a municipal ordinance for a moratorium on the project.

At one time, Albano was accused of coddling communist rebels and was also linked to illegal gambling operations in his town.

It was the second attempt on the life of Albano who survived an ambush in November 2004.

In GMA television footage taken on Nov. 21, 2004, Albano was interviewed saying his campaign against illegal drugs was behind the earlier assassination attempt.

Albano’s assassination yesterday marked the fourth attempt on a local official within the month.

On June 1, Batangas Gov. Armando Sanchez survived a bomb explosion in his vehicle. His driver and bodyguard were killed in the blast.

On June 9, an explosive was hurled at the house of Lubao, Pampanga Mayor Dennis Pineda. No one was injured in the incident.

Last week, a car bomb exploded along the route of the convoy of Maguindanao Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan, killing five people.

PNP Task Force Usig chief Deputy Director General Avelino Razon Jr. said the four incidents are not related.

The local officials of Isabela, however, are now taking the threat seriously and made preparations to beef up their security.

Officials led by Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca condemned the killing of Albano whom they described as "a hardworking, sincere and dedicated public servant."

"We condemn the killing. It’s never right to take one’s life no matter what the motive is," Padaca said.

Militant groups based in the province also issued separate statements condemning the killing of Albano, saying the slain mayor had been "very sympathetic to their cause." — With Non Alquitran, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Evelyn Macairan, Charlie Lagasca, AP, AFP