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Sunday, December 17, 2006
Gunman kills congressman, aide
MANILA -- A congressman from Abra province and his bodyguard were killed by a gunman after he attended a relative's church wedding Saturday, police and radio reports said.
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Representative Luis Bersamin Jr. of northern Abra province was about to board his car outside the Mount Carmel Church in suburban Quezon City when a gunman fired on one of his bodyguards then shot the congressman, killing them both, Quezon City Police Chief Magtanggol Gatdula said.
Gatdula said a driver of the congressman, who also acted as a bodyguard, was wounded as he traded shots with the gunman, who escaped on a motorcycle driven by another man. A 13-year-old boy was hit by a stray bullet and taken to a hospital, he said.
Police recovered the motorcycle several blocks away from the scene.
House Speaker Jose de Venecia and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's political adviser Gabriel Claudio condemned the attack.
De Venecia urged the police "to quickly determine the motive and identify those behind it."
Claudio said he was "shocked and outraged by this gruesome, cold-blooded murder."
"Government will leave no stone unturned to bring the godless perpetrators to justice," he said in a statement.
The driver, Allan Sawagan, said Bersamin was a sponsor at the wedding of a niece.
The 62-year-old congressman was a lawyer and businessman and was the vice chairman of both the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs and the Committee on Trade and Industry.
"As he was about to board the car, someone from behind pulled out a gun and fired on one of security officers, startling him. Then he was shot in the head," Sawagan told dzBB radio.
Presidential Assistant Gabriel Claudio said, "it's awful, really awful. We're shocked and outraged by this gruesome cold-blooded murder. Government will leave no stone unturned to bring the godless perpetrators to justice."
National Police Director General Oscar Calderon ordered the creation of a task force to go after the killers.
The attack came in the wake of claims by officials of an alleged plot to assassinate Representative Prospero Nograles, majority leader of the House of Representatives, and the narrow escape from a car bombing of another congressman, Representative Robert Jaworski Jr.
The National Bureau of Investigation said it uncovered a plot to kill Nograles during a Christmas party he was to attend last week in southern Davao city.
Nograles told reporters he had no idea who could have been involved in the alleged plot.
Jaworski, known for campaigning against illegal drugs, said he was able to get out of his car moments after hearing a popping sound followed by smoke coming from under the vehicle Tuesday. Seconds later a powerful explosion ripped through the car, igniting a fire that gutted it.
Police said they found traces of high explosives in the wreck. No group has claimed responsibility and police have no immediate suspects.
All three congressmen belonged to the administration coalition that supports President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Barely a month, Board Member James Bersamin was also shot dead in Bangued, Abra's capital town, while jogging without any bodyguard at the town plaza early morning of November 13, also by motorcycle-riding men.
The board member had reportedly been preparing to run for mayor of Bangued in next year's election.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Cordillera has placed Abra under its watch list due to the increased number of violent activities that occurred the past several months.
Senior Superintendent Eduardo Bayangos, CIDG regional director, said the rise in unsolved criminal incidents in these provinces, particularly murder and homicide, forced them to place the two provinces on tight monitoring to prevent further loss of lives and damages to property.
With the local elections fast approaching, Bayangos pointed out that law enforcers have to beef up their security measures in conflict-stricken areas to ensure peace and order in the coming months.
Among the activities lined up in the two provinces include the dismantling of private armed groups, neutralization of syndicated crime groups, arrest of wanted individuals frequently used as bodyguards and goons of politicians, the confiscation of unlicensed firearms and intensification of the internal security operations.
In the last two weeks, a 33-year-old businesswoman and a 56-year-old court employee were killed by still unidentified gunmen in Bangued and San Quintin, Abra, respectively.
Abra and Kalinga are considered conflict-stricken areas in the Cordillera due to numerous political and extrajudicial killings recorded over the past several decades.
Bayangos said they already prepared contingency measures to ensure that they could address whatever problems that would arise in the implementation of the needed plans and programs to help restore peace and order in Abra and Kalinga.
He claimed that despite problems in manpower, they have to intensify their intelligence gatherings in the two provinces to ensure that they could succeed in their goal to restore peace and order in the region.
The CIDG is in charge of conducting thorough investigations on heinous and high-profile crimes perpetrated, especially in the two provinces the past several years. Its efforts turned out to be successful due to the arrest of several of the perpetrators who were eventually charged and now being tried in various courts. (AP/Dexter See and Jane Cadalig of Sun.Star Baguio/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (December 17, 2006 issue)
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