Wednesday, April 02, 2008 Tudela mayor's aide survives shooting By Mia E. Abellana Sun.Star Staff Reporter
A TOWN mayor’s aide was shot after attending a graduation ceremony in Barangay Puertobello in the island town of Tudela last Monday night.
Tudela Mayor Rogelio Baquerfo Sr. had just boarded his van while his aide Celso Quizon, 51, took the seat behind the driver and sat beside Baquerfo’s wife.
They were headed to the school’s home economics building where a short salo-salo was to be held when a lone gunman shot Quizon on the left side of his face at 7:20 p.m.
Quizon survived the attack. The bullet only grazed his cheek.
While police doubt that Baquerfo was the target, the mayor said he was sure the gunman intended to hit him because Quizon was not from Tudela. His aide is from Danao City.
In an interview over radio dyHP yesterday morning, Baquerfo already identified a suspect, saying there were several people who saw him that night.
The man Baquerfo identified is the son of a defeated candidate for barangay captain.
The candidate ran against the candidate Baquerfo endorsed in the barangay elections last October.
Last month, the defeated barangay captain and his son were allegedly harassed by Baquerfo’s nephews. The three nephews allegedly threatened the two, torched their pump boat and then lobbed a hand grenade at their house.
Target
Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Carmelo Valmoria said they have identified the assailant but declined to name the individual, saying that his men were still pursuing him.
However, he said they were still checking if the earlier grenade-throwing incident was related to Monday night’s shooting because the victims of the incident refused to file charges.
“They did not cooperate and did not give any statements,” Valmoria said.
And unlike Baquerfo, he does not believe the gunman was after the mayor.
“I believe the mayor was not the target. There was only one shot. All the while, the assailant had been there (at the graduation rites) before the victim was shot. Otherwise, he could have had a good shot,” Valmoria explained.
He also doubts if the incident had anything to do with politics since the situation in the town was already stable.
He also does not believe any tension will escalate as a result of the incident.
Bodyguard
Still, Valmoria sent a team from the Special Reaction Unit to the island to “augment the personnel of Tudela and help in the conduct of follow-up operations.”
The team left for Tudela yesterday morning.
Contrary to initial reports, Baquerfo denied Quizon was his personal bodyguard, saying he did not keep any.
He explained that Quizon has served as his point person in dealing with problems in the town.
But with the recent shooting, he said he now plans to ask for a bodyguard. Valmoria said Baquerfo can get a member of the Tudela Police Station to serve as his detailed bodyguard.
Also yesterday, the new police chief of Tudela town assumed his post.
Insp. Almirante Bacayo will replace Senior Insp. Ramon Ortiz.
Valmoria clarified, though, that the change in leadership had nothing to do with the incident.
In the meantime, Baquerfo said he will ask investigators to invite four individuals and a local government official who acted “suspiciously” to shed light on the incident. (MEA)
