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Friday, May 23, 2008
Ajuy town vice mayor shot dead
By Ruby P. Silubrico
ILOILO CITY -- A day before his 50th birthday, Ajuy town Vice Mayor Ramon Rojas was gunned down while jogging with a friend along Barangay Central, Ajuy town in Iloilo province.
Rojas succumbed to two gunshot wounds on his stomach and head when two unknown assassins shot him at around 5:30 a.m. Thursday. His friend, Barangay Captain Ferdinand Nacional, was able to escape.
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The vice mayor was declared dead on arrival at the Sara District Hospital less than an hour after the attack.
Rojas is survived by his wife, three sons, and daughter. His wife is a practicing nurse in London.
Nacional said they were jogging along the road of Barangay Central as their usual routine every morning, when one of the two persons who were riding on a motorcycle pulled out a gun and shot Rojas, hitting the victim on his stomach.
Rojas tried to ran away, going to the hilly portion of the area but he reportedly slipped and the suspect finished him off with a close range shot on the head.
"I was walking ahead of Rojas and when I saw the back rider who pulled out his gun from his waist, I shouted for Rojas to hide but it was too late," Nacional revealed.
Nacional ran to a house near the crime scene for safety. He said when he returned to the area, he Rojas lying along the road.
"He was a good man and approachable. He was often seen in the public market talking with his friends and vendors. I'm wondering why he was brutally killed," Nacional said.
Iloilo Governor Niel D. Tupas Sr., after knowing the incident, directed Iloilo Provincial Police Director Ricardo De la Paz, who was in Bacolod City for a conference to return immediately to Iloilo City.
Regional Police Director Chief Superintendent Isagani Cuevas, for his part, immediately created Task Force Rojas, which will be headed by De la Paz. He also ordered hot pursuit operation against fleeing suspects.
Cuevas, who was in Bacolod for the Presidential visit, said initial police investigation shows political rivalry as the motive, citing that Ajuy town was a political hotspot in last year's elections.
If the police are right, the rivalry is within the family clan, where immediate cousins belonging to the Rojas political clan faced-off each other in the last elections.
Cuevas also said they are looking into the possibility that the killing may have something to do with illegal fishing operations.
To recall, Rojas was accused of serving as protector and financier to some illegal fishers in Ajuy. Rojas, however, denied these allegations. Ajuy is a hotspot for illegal fishing.
Cuevas said the police mobile group has been mobilized to go after the suspects, saying one of them is not in Panay Island anymore.
The police mobile group has also been eyeing the possibility that perpetrators could have fled towards the northern part of Negros Occidental, which is across Ajuy.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of Western Visayas as well as the National Bureau of Investigation are helping in the investigation.
Fifth District Board Member Jett Rojas, a cousin of the victim, however said he was shocked when he received reports that Vice Mayor Rojas was shot dead.
He said they met last week "and he (victim) did not mention any threat or if there's somebody who plans to kill him." (Sun.Star Iloilo/With Ma. Ester L. Espina of Sun.Star Bacolod)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (May 23, 2008 issue)
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