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Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Reyes orders relief of entire Abra police (12:10 p.m.)
INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes ordered PNP Chief Arturo Lomibao to replace the entire police force in the province of Abra.
Reyes order came after a fact-fining team reported on the worsening peace and order situation in the province.
The report said private armies of local officials were involved in illegal activities. Tension is also brought about by the administrative and criminal cases filed against top officials in the region.
Reyes cited the police failure to enforce the law without favor resulting to general ineffectiveness of the police to maintain peace and order.
Reyes order will affect at least 529 policemen in Abra. Lomibao in a separate interview said he will coordinate with the regional police office to effect Reyes order.
Abra is one the provinces in the hotspot list of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during the 2004 elections.
The private armies were blamed for the series of shooting incidents resulting in several deaths in the May 2004 elections.
The report also mentioned Abra Governor Vicente Valera's alleged involvement in the assassination attempt against Lagayan Mayor Cecilia Luna.
Early last year, the son of Luna challenged Valera to a duel inside a cockpit arena in Bangued town.
Ironically, Ryan Luna, made the challenge against Valera in front of Supt. Arturo Hicban, director of the Abra Provincial Police Office.
Luna reportedly approached and confronted Valera for publicly declaring that the Lunas, and not the Valeras, are behind the spate of shooting incidents resulting to multiple deaths in the province.
Sources said the political rivalry between the Lunas and the Valeras worsened when Roger Luna, Ryan's father, filed his candidacy for governor and is facing Valera in the May 10 elections.
The entire Abra province was placed under Comelec control in the 2001 elections with all gun ban exemptions issued to politicians subsequently revoked.
Court records showed that since October 2001 up to July 2004 there were 31 recorded murder cases, 21 frustrated murders and eight attempted murder charges were already filed.
There were also at least seven homicides, 13 frustrated homicides and seven attempted homicide charges lodged against various courts in the province. (Sunnex) |
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