CALBAYOG Diocese Bishop Isabelo Abarquez condemned “in the strongest terms” the killing of City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino and his two other companions on Monday afternoon, March 8, 2021.
“The taking of human life and the inflicting of injury and suffering on anyone, whether as an act of aggression or to sow fears in the hearts and lives of the people can never be justified,” said the bishop after Aquino was allegedly waylaid by members of local police while he was on his way to attend the birthday party of his son in Calbayog, Samar.
“The Diocesan of Calbayog does not tolerate any form of repression especially through extrajudicial killings. The right to life is a gift for everybody and no one has the right to take it. The wheel of justice is the proper venue for resolution of any case,” added Abarquez.
The bishop called on the proper authorities “to conduct a thorough and speedy investigation on the killing ...and bring into the bar of justice the ones responsible.”
“We share the grief of the Aquino family and the families of his driver and bodyguard, offering them our condolences and prayers for the eternal repose of the souls of their loved ones and for comfort in their bereavement,” said the bishop, as he extended his “sincerest and deepest sympathy” to the families, relatives and friends of the victims.
Police officers’ involvement
While initial reports showed conflicting information on how the mayor died, the shooting incident also led to the death of Captain Joselito Tabada, chief of Samar Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU), and Staff Sergeant Romeo Laoyon of the Provincial Intelligence Group.
Another police officer identified as Staff Sergeant Neil Cebu, assigned at K9 Unit of Samar Police Provincial Office, suffered an injury.
The police officers, who were onboard another vehicle, were alleged to be behind the attack, according to initial information released by authorities shortly after the incident on March 8.
Tabada’s body was retrieved under the bridge in the area later in the day.
In another report, however, authorities said it was the mayor’s group who “fired upon vehicles which they allegedly thought were suspiciously tailing them.”
“The other vehicles, which were later identified to be carrying PNP personnel from IMEG (Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group) and PDEU, then retaliated, hence a firefight ensued,” read the police report.
Authorities identified the other fatalities as Staff Sergeant Rodeo Sario, member of Calbayog City Police Station who accompanied the mayor, and Dennis Abayon, mayor's driver.
A city hall employee named Clint John Paul Yaunder was also wounded after he was accidentally caught in crossfire while onboard another private vehicle.
Another city hall employee onboard the mayor’s vehicle identified as Mansfield Labonite was rushed to a nearby hospital after he sustained gunshot wounds.
In a statement, the Police Regional Office-Eastern Visayas said they already created a “Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Aquino” to facilitate the prompt investigation on the case, wherein a conference is set to be conducted on Tuesday, March 9.
Call for justice
Samar First District Representative Edgar Mary Sarmiento assured his constituents that he “will do everything possible that justice be served for Mayor Onald Aquino, whose sole intention is to continue the prosperity and the well-being of the City of Calbayog and the betterment of his constituents.”
Citing the statements of the witnesses, the lawmaker said the mayor and his group “were riding a van when unknown assailants barraged their vehicle with bullets.”
“As I have repeatedly stated in the past, our city doesn’t deserve this kind of violence. Each time a shooting incident occurs in our district, I always have to ponder why such thing has to happen,” said Sarmiento in a statement.
“As a practice, I constantly and immediately seek the help of the authorities and remind them to be neutral in the enforcement of law and of their motto, ‘To Serve and Protect.' I’m hoping therefore that real justice be given to Mayor Ronaldo ‘Onald’ Aquino,” he added.
The congressman then appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte and to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra “to allow the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate what happened since uniformed personnel who are supposed to be the protectors of peace and order were involved in the shooting incident which led to the death of a fellow public servant, no less than the Local Chief Executive of Calbayog City.”
“We now have two mayors in the city of Calbayog who were murdered in succession, therefore as the highest elected official of the District, I am calling all my fellow Calbayognons that we stand together as one to give justice to them. We fight for Calbayog!” the congressman added.
Samar incumbent Governor Reynolds Michael Tan also condemned the mayor’s shooting.
“When my mother passed away, the good Mayor Ronaldo P. Aquino came to extend his sincere condolences despite our shared differences. Our family appreciated his gesture,” Tan said.
“Yesterday’s news came as a shock to us all. We are deeply saddened by the horrific tragedy that has befallen Mayor Aquino and his companions; and we are one with the people of Calbayog in condemning this atrocity to the highest degree,” he added.
As he expressed his “most heartfelt condolences” to the families of the victims, Tan also pleaded to President Duterte “to send their most notable investigators and make immediate and necessary crackdowns on the series of horrifying killings that has plagued Calbayog and the rest of the 1st District of Samar for years, leading up to this most unfortunate incident.”
“I also join you all in the call to end the killings in the First District of Samar! The violence and the senseless deaths must come to an end,” the governor said in a separate statement.
In 2011, then Calbayog Mayor Reynaldo Uy was also shot and killed by a still unknown assassin.
Aquino, who served as Uy’s vice mayor, became the mayor until his death.
The Police Regional Office-Eastern Visayas earlier launched an investigation on the series of killings in Calbayog. (SunStar Philippines)