Anti-drug cops gun down Calbayog mayor, police escorts

MANILA, Philippines — The mayor of Calbayog City, Samar and five other persons, including a municipal police chief, were killed in what authorities described as a clash between the local chief executive’s security escorts and police anti-narcotics officers on Monday.

The Eastern Visayas Police has formed a special investigation task group that will look into the circumstances surrounding the incident, which took place at Laboyao Bridge in Barangay Lonoy, Calbayog City at around 5:30 p.m on Monday.

Mayor Ronaldo Aquino, 59, was on his way to his son’s birthday celebration north of Calbayog in a Toyota Hi-Ace van when his bodyguards reportedly opened fire at several vehicles which they believed were tailing them.

The people in the other vehicles turned out to be lawmen from the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) and Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU).

Aquino, his van driver Dennis Abayon, 33, and police escort S/Sgt. Rodeo Sario, 40, were killed during the exchange of gunfire.

S/Sgt. Romeo Laoyon, an intel operative of the Samar Police Provincial Office, died on the spot.

PDEU commander and Gandara town police chief Cpt. Joselito Tabada was found dead under the bridge at dawn yesterday.

A civilian, whom police have yet to identify, was also killed after being caught in the crossfire.

Aquino’s aide Mansfield Labonete, 29, and local government employee Clint John Paul Yauder, 26, were wounded.

Yauder, whose car was just passing by but got caught in the crossfire, reportedly died while being treated at the St. Camillus Hospital in Calbayog City.

One companion of Laoyon and Tabada, identified as S/Sgt. Neil Cebu, was also wounded. Cebu, a policeman detailed to a K9 unit, was taken to the hospital.

Other policemen who were inside the vehicle of Tabada’s group were reportedly held in custody by investigators.

Eastern Visayas Police Director Brig. Gen. Ronaldo de Jesus said Aquino was not the target of the policemen who were headed to another operation.

“I can only assume that it was mistaken, and there were suspicions on our police that’s why they opened fire and the police retaliated,” De Jesus said in English and Filipino in a phone interview.

Meanwhile, Aquino’s security escorts were the ones who allegedly initiated the shootout with policemen on Monday, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana yesterday said Aquino’s bodyguards opened fire at an unmarked vehicle used by lawmen of the IMEG and PDEU that was traveling in the same direction.

“The group of Mayor Aquino was alleged to have initiated the shootout when his close-in security fired at the unmarked vehicle of the IMEG-PDEU group,” Usana said in a statement.

Usana described the clash as an “unfortunate incident,” which is now being looked into a special investigation task group (SITG).

Impartial probe

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra yesterday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct an impartial probe on the killing of Aquino.

Guevarra expressed belief that the NBI should conduct a separate probe on the ambush-slay incident that also resulted in the death of at least five others, since policemen were reportedly identified as suspects in the killings.

“We would refer the matter to the NBI for the simple reason that the other party involved is from the PNP. The information that we have gathered so far is that the (group of Aquino) had an encounter with alleged police officers,” Guevarra said.

“So since there are different versions, in order to have an objective and impartial investigation, I will direct the NBI today to investigate the incident,”he added.

The SITG, however, will continue with its probe even if the NBI has stepped in to the investigation, according to De Jesus.

“We will cooperate with the NBI, but the SITG created will continue to investigate,” he said in a text message.

Palace condemns killing

Malacañang yesterday condemned the killing of Aquino as it expressed alarm that the incident could be the start of election-related violent incidents.

“We condemn that because the right to life is the most important life. We are alarmed that a mayor was killed because it could be the start of killings related to politics at a time when the election is approaching,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing.

“In a democracy, people elect leaders, and our appeal is to let the people choose the one whom they think will be the most effective in terms of leadership. Political violence has no place in a democracy,” he added.

‘Clean, independent’

Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday denounced the killing of Aquino even as she called for a “clean” and “independent” investigation on the mayor’s death.

“In other times, perhaps, we will be surprised by this horrible news… But we are in a time when many seem to have become numb to violence and the culture of murder,” she said in a statement.

“We will not get tired of speaking out. We will not stop in pushing for the right, dignity and value of human lives. We call for a clean, competent and independent investigation into Mayor Aquino’s death, and for his murderers to be brought to justice,” she added.

The Vice President emphasized that the killings of mayors, community organizers, lawyers, judges, journalists, children and drug suspects should not be treated as normal.

“We must connect the dots between these gruesome deaths and see the web that enables and emboldens these killings: impunity, the normalization and incitement of violence and the kill, kill, kill rhetoric coming from the highest offices,” she said. – Emmanuel Tupas, Evelyn Macairan, Alexis Romero, Helen Flores, Delon Porcalla