In the wake of the killing of Mayor Aquino

TACLOBAN CITY- The chief of police of Calbayog City was relieved from his post in the aftermath on the killing of Mayor Ronaldo Aquino.
The relief of Police Col. Neil Montaño was announced by PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Sunday (March 14.)
In a statement, Eleazar said that the order is with the concurrence of the Chief PNP, Police General Debold Sinas who is on leave .
Eleazar said that the action is in connection with the incident in March 8 which resulted in the death of Mayor Ronaldo Aquino and five other people, including three police personnel and at the same time, the irresponsible conduct of his intelligence officer in relation to the letter request to the local court.
He added that these two unfortunate incidents are currently under investigation and PLtCol Montaño was ordered relieved for command responsibility.
Eleazar further informed that PLtCol. Montaño will be replaced by PLtCol Rodolfo Albotra while Police Major Ruel Burlat, on the other hand, will be designated as the new chief of intelligence unit, to replace PLt Fernando Calabria Jr. who was also relieved from his post effective March 12.
Aside from PLtCol Montaño and PLt Calabria, nine other Police Non-Commissioned Officers (PNCOs) of the Calbayog CPS were also relieved and were reassigned to Samar Provincial Police Office to undergo refresher seminar he added.
Eleazar said that the relief of these officers and the designation of their replacements were also based on the recommendation of the Regional Director, Police Regional Office 8, Police Brigadier General Ronaldo De Jesus.
“This reorganization is intended not only to improve the investigation and intelligence capacity of the Calbayog City Police Station in the light of the two incidents that happened but also to infuse new ideas and strategies on peace and order with the deployment of new police officers in the area” Eleazar in a statement said.
The order includes the designation of PMaj Marino Estoño as the new company commander of the Calbayog City-based 1st Samar Provincial Mobile Forces Company, which was also recommended by PBGen De Jesus.
It was learned that PMaj Estoño has just finished his commando course and Eleazar expects that his deployment in Calbayog City will calm the tension and address security apprehensions of the local residents as a result of the incident involving Mayor Aquino.
“We are also continuously conducting the needs assessment for the Calbayog CPS to improve its investigation, intelligence and operational capabilities through PBGen De Jesus and his regional command group” said Eleazar.
Eleazar also said that based on consultation with the Chief PNP, police officers concerned are also ordered to refrain from making any comment on the case of Mayor Aquino, and just wait instead for the final result of the investigation.
“We appeal to all the parties concerned to do the same” he added.

On the killing of Calbayog City Mayor Aquino

TACLOBAN CITY- The gruesome killing of outgoing Calbayog City Mayor Ronald Aquino remains to be shrouded with mystery as police authorities maintain that he was killed in a shootout amid claims of his family  that he was ambushed.
Aquino, 59, on board in an Hi-Ace van, was traversing in Barangay Lonoy  at around 5:30 pm last Monday(March 8) when the incident took place as he was on his way to the family-owned resort to attend the birthday party of his son, Mark.
The city mayor, who was serving on his last term, sustained several gunshot wounds on the different parts of his body which resulted on his immediate death.
Also killed inside his vehicle were his driver, Dennis Abayon; and his police escort, S/Sg.Rodeo Sario. Wounded was Mansfield Labonite, his civilian aide.
Killed on the side of the operatives were Capt. Joselito Tabada, chief of the provincial anti-drug enforcement unit; S/Sgt. Romeo Laoyon, assigned at the provincial intelligence group.Wounded was S/Sgt.Neil Cebu, assigned at the K9 unit of the Samar police provincial office.
A civilian, Clint Jan Paul Yaunder, a City Hall employee, died after the vehicle he was on board was hit in the crossfire.
Aquino is the second mayor of Calbayog to have died while in office.
Then mayor Reynaldo Uy was shot dead in 2011 while attending a fiesta celebration in Hinabangan town. His death remains unsolved up to this time.
Police claimed that it was from the city mayor’s group which made the first shots as they allegedly sense that they were being tailed.
“Two groups were involved in the shooting incident. One was the group of Mayor Aquino and the other group was composed of police personnel. A shootout took place with the first volley of fire came from the group of the mayor. It was not an ambush incident as there was an exchange of fire between the two groups,” Police Lt. Aileen Velarde, spokesperson of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Aquino, said in a phone interview.
Velarde, however, could not as to how long the exchange of fire took place saying their probe is still underway to determine other factors relative to the incident that took place in Barangay Lonoy in the said city.
She disclosed that they are also in the process of determining how many operatives were involved though she said that firearms have been collected from them to be subjected for a forensic examination.
Velarde also stressed that the group of the policemen were not aware that the vehicle that they were following belonged to the city mayor and he was on board.
“They were in the area as part of their Red teaming inspection to determine on the readiness of the police in case there is an incident. They were not aware that Mayor Aquino was on board of the vehicle. He was not a target,” she said.
But for the family and allies of the slain mayor, what happened on that day was an ambush.
Mark Aquino, the eldest son of the city mayor, said that the operatives targeted the vehicle of his father.
“How could that be a shooting incident as they claimed? They were already at the crime scene before papa’s vehicle passed by. They were waiting for him. They positioned themselves with the intention to shoot and kill my father. It was an ambush,” he said, adding that the assailants were armed with high firearm like an M203 and machine gun.
The 38-year old son also said that the policemen were on bonnets and on civilian attire.
While his father and his police escort were able to fire back against the law enforcers, they were ‘outnumbered and overwhelmed,’ he said.
The young Aquino, who served as Calbayog councilor from 2010 to 2013, said that they believed that the killing of their patriarch was politically motivated as previous killing incidents involving at least 10 of their barangay leaders in the city just this year alone.
“There is no other reason why he was murdered. It was politically motivated as what was the reason why 10 barangay chairmen, who were our supporters, were killed just for this year alone,” he said.
It was learned from him that the slain mayor was to seek for the vice mayor position, the same post he held when then mayor Reynaldo Uy was killed in 2011 during a fiesta event in Hinabangan town, in next year’s elections.
While he did not directly mentioned who could be behind on the murder of his father, he concluded it was by their political rivals.
He also dismissed allegations that his father was involved in the illegal drug trade saying almost all government security agencies, ‘except perhaps the PNP province’, has cleared his father’s name.
“And he was not among those so called narco politicians as mentioned by Pres.Duterte earlier,” he added
Meantime, Velarde said that they welcome the investigation to be conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) saying the two probes have the same purpose which is ferret out the truth on what really happened on that day.
“We welcome the investigation to be conducted by the NBI. We have similar goal which is to determine what really happened on that day,” she said.
She also assures the family and allies of Aquino and the public in general that their investigation will be ‘speedy and impartial.’
“We are giving the assurance to the public that the task group was created primarily to ensure that those responsible be held accountable and that justice will be served to the family of the city mayor. The investigation will be transparent and impartial,” Velarde said. (with RONALD O.REYES)