Ecija mayor denies any hand in 1994 murder

JAEN, Nueva Ecija — This town’s mayor denied allegations yesterday that he masterminded the 1994 killing of a barangay chairman, claiming he was a victim of political harassment.

Mayor Antonio Prospero Esquivel claimed some influential people are trying to revive the murder case which he said had been dismissed in April 1998.

"That’s politics. They are trying to (blacken) my name," he said, adding that the allegations that he was the brains of the murder of Ricardo Velarde are pure fabrications and outright lies.

Esquivel was reacting to the accusations of Velarde’s widow, Rosalinda, that he masterminded her husband’s killing.

Mrs. Velarde personally appealed to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales the other day and sought justice for her slain husband.

Gonzales directed Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño to resolve the case which is pending with the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Velarde was gunned down by three men in Barangay San Roque here on June 4, 1994. The three suspects — Edgardo Santos, Rufino Domingo and Rufino Manuel — are detained in the provincial jail in Barangay Caalibangbangan, Cabanatuan City.

Two of the three suspects alleged that it was Esquivel who ordered them to kill Velarde. Santos reportedly confessed that he shot Velarde at close range with an Arma—lite rifle while the two others served as lookouts.

Santos also reportedly claimed that Esquivel hid them in his house in Las Piñas.

But Esquivel countered that the three suspects pleaded not guilty during their arraignment in 1999, contrary to Mrs. Velarde’s claims. He said the case against him was dismissed in 1998.

The Jaen mayor said Mrs. Velarde’s claims that he could have ordered the killing because he was running for mayor in the 1995 elections are flimsy since Velarde, being a barangay chairman, could not have been a political threat to him.

"In the first place, when barangay captain Velarde ran for municipal councilor in 1992, he ended up 27th. So how could he be considered a threat?" he said.

In fact, Esquivel said the Velardes could not be considered a major political force in Jaen since they have lost in their attempts to seek public office.

Esquivel said he could not explain why the Velardes were venting their ire on him for Ricardo’s slaying when there could be other possible motives for the crime.

He recalled that when Velarde assumed office as barangay chairman on June 1, 1994, he led a raid on a jueteng den. He was killed a few hours after the raid.