Son of slain Moises Padilla councilor prays for favorable resolution

THE son of slain Moises Padilla Councilor Jolomar Hilario is asking the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor for a prompt and favorable resolution to his father's case.

In a letter submitted by Francis Leo Hilario and addressed to OIC Provincial Prosecutor Ma. Christy Uriarte, he said his family and he failed to put on trial the main persons of interest who are allegedly responsible for his father's death due to fear of witnesses to come out and testify.

The younger Hilario also submitted 10 copies of his complaint affidavits for murder, supported by three other witnesses, all of whom accusing several people, including incumbent Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo and former Isabela town mayor Renato Malabor Jr., of murder.

The other individuals named in the affidavits are Yulo's husband Felix Mathias Yulo, Mary Evelyn Garcia, and Francis Dol Malabor.

Based on the younger Hilario's affidavit, her mother Ma. Misil Abella-Hilario filed a complaint of murder against several persons who were allegedly involved in his father's killing.

The Provincial Prosecutor's Office, however, instead allegedly recommended the cases for "attempted robbery with homicide," through the Investigating Prosecutor Ken D. Furuyama, Associate Prosecution Attorney II.

The case was filed and docketed as Criminal Case 5912 before the La Carlota City Regional Trial Court Branch 74, against several individuals.

With the emergence of new witnesses, the younger Hilario said he filed a criminal complaint of murder against Garcia-Yulo, Moises Padilla Vice Mayor Adrian Villaflor, and Malabor.

Other individuals named in the younger Hilario's complaint affidavit were Vincent Garcia, Felisa Flores-Villaflor, Jonathan Villaflor, Jose Morito Flores, Jimmie Don Plaza, Amy Locsin, Armando Cordero, Roel Bero Sarillo, Jason Ledio Abria, Raymond Estorca Gabitanan, Richard Gelonga Sarillo Jr. and Joemer Salgado Pablo.

Furuyama later recommended the withdrawal of the attempted robbery with homicide case and at the same time recommended the filing of a new information for murder last January 4, 2021.

However at the same time, Furuyama again recommended the dismissal of the younger Hilario's murder complaint against the incumbent Moises Padilla Mayor, her husband, the former Isabela town mayor, and five other individuals due to lack or insufficiency of evidence.

In another affidavit submitted by Lea Labiaga-Dime, which aims to support the younger Hilario's complaints and claimed to have formerly served as aide to Garcia-Yulo, she claimed that she heard Garcia-Yulo's plans as running against former Moises Padilla Mayor Magdaleno Peña back in 2019.

She said Garcia-Yulo had repeatedly blamed Peña and his political allies, which include the elder Hilario, for the criminal case she was facing at that time.

Labiaga-Dime also accused Garcia-Yulo of repeating her plans of eliminating her opponents, especially the elder Hilario, and overheard her talking with several individuals in the phone telling them to monitor the councilor's whereabouts and to liquidate him by using the Special Partisan Unit (Sparu) of the New People's Army (NPA).

She also admitted that on one occasion, she managed to smuggle inside the Tabunan Jail compound an ordinary mobile phone that was used by Garcia-Yulo and her husband. Labiaga-Dime also presented several pieces of evidence linking the incumbent Moises Padilla mayor to the NPA.

"Despite Mayor Ella's plea for me to go back working for her again, I decided to totally break away from her and her group," Labiaga-Dime said. "I do not want to be associated with her."

Garcia-Yulo's camp, meanwhile, had yet to respond to the new allegations against her. But she and her allies have already denied the allegations linking them to the NPA.

Based on an official report by the Moises Padilla town police back in 2019, Hilario was sleeping when around 50 armed on board three trucks arrived and broke inside the victim's home identifying themselves as insurgents from the NPA.

The suspects shot Hilario multiple times, and at the same time threatened his wife and children, although they were left unharmed.

Hilario was running for re-election at the time of the murder.