Mayors to tackle security issues amid killings

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Amid the recent killings of two mayors in Luzon, the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) in Iloilo wishes to revisit security concerns of local mayors.

Ajuy Mayor Jett Rojas, who is also president of LMP-Iloilo, said that despite the concerns, the political landscape in the province is generally peaceful.

Only one or two mayors have apparently expressed security threats following the deaths of mayors Antonio Halili of Tanauan City, Batangas last Monday and Ferdinand Bote of General Tinio, Nueva Ecija on Tuesday.

Rojas did not reveal who they are, although Mayors Mariano Malones of Maasin and Siegfredo Betita of Carles earlier said that the two incidents were unsettling.

They claimed that they won’t ask security assistance from the police or military.

Both Betita and Malones, and Mayor Alex Centena of Calinog, were in President Duterte’s narco list of local officials allegedly involved in drug trafficking.

All three mayors denied any illegal drugs connection.

Betita is worried that some quarters might use the issue against him.

Malones, on the other hand, chose not to comment any further to steer his opponents away from riding on the issue.

Rojas said the three mayors just asked that there be a speedy investigation on their alleged links to illegal drugs.

“They want to put closure on the issue,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rojas said they would be inviting Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, Western Visayas police chief, to their regular meeting on July 27.

While stressing that Iloilo is generally peaceful, Rojas acknowledged that local chief executives face certain risks that are part of their job. 

“Most of our mayors here have no security. They travel by themselves. They drive their own cars but we are also vulnerable to some risks,” he added.

Rojas said there could be individuals or business persons who harbor ill feelings against mayors if their requests are not granted.

Rojas said the mayors also condemned the killings of Halili and Bote.

“We do not know them personally but we are also affected because they are our fellow mayors,” he said.

Under the Duterte administration, 10 mayors have been killed.

Of the 10, three were from Luzon, four from the Visayas and three from Mindanao.

Except for Rolando Espinosa Sr. of Albuera, Leyte, all were incumbent local executives when they were killed.

The 31 police chiefs in Negros Occidental were ordered to secure their respective mayors.

While he has not received any complaints from 31 mayors in Negros Occidental on threats on their lives, Senior Supt. Rodolfo Castil, provincial police director, ordered police chiefs to tighten security of their respective local government chief executives.

On Thursday, the Negros Occidental Association of Chief Executives and provincial chapter of LMP condemned the murders of Halili and Bote.

Victorias City Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca, who chaired the Negros ACE, said they are putting the responsibility on the PNP to solve the crimes, whether or not the slain local government officials were involved with illegal drugs.

Inside job

Police are investigating if the murder of Halili was an inside job.

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said yesterday that the special investigation task group probing Halili’s killing is now looking into the possibility that someone could have informed the assailant about his activities prior to the shooting.

Investigators have learned that Halili seldom attended flag-raising ceremonies at the city hall.

They are wondering how the gunman got the tip that Halili was going to attend the flag-raising ceremony that day.

Another question is how the gunman knew that Halili was not wearing a bulletproof vest on the day of the shooting.

Halili, the source revealed, always wore a protective vest because of the threats to his life.

“Those are the reasons why the angle of an inside job is being looked into by investigators,” the source said.

Director general Aaron Aquino of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency yesterday said that Halili was among the original names in President Duterte’s narco list in 2016. – With Emmanuel Tupas, Gilbert Bayoran