DOJ sets probe into Trece Martires vice mayor’s slay

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to conduct a preliminary investigation into the killing of Trece Martires City Vice Mayor Alexander Lubigan last July.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra confirmed Thursday that a hearing on the murder and frustrated murder charges against incumbent Trece Martires Mayor Melandres de Sagun and nine others has been set for 1:30 p.m. of October 12 at the DOJ headquarters in Manila.

Apart from De Sagun, named as respondents in the complaint filed by the Philippine National Police were Maragondon Councilor Lawrence "Umbe" Arca, Luis Vasquez Abad Jr, Ariel Fletchetro Paiton, Rhonel Bersamina, and other unidentified individuals.

Lubigan and his driver, Romulo Gillemer, were killed in a daylight ambush attack on July 7, a day after the city official announced his intention to run for mayor in next year's elections, according to Interior officer-in-charge Eduardo Año.

Amid suspicion that the killing may have been politically motivated, Cavite police provincial director William Segun said Lubigan and De Sagun have been at odds since the 2016 polls.

Lubigan's killing closely followed those of Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili and General Tinio, Nueva Ecija mayor Ferdinand Bote, who were both shot dead in early July.

At least 11 Philippine mayors and six vice mayors have been killed under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte as of early October, according to an earlier report.

Malacañang earlier said it considered the back-to-back killings of local chief executives as an attempt to erode public confidence in Duterte.

“There is no culture of impunity in the Philippines as we do not condone any state-sponsored killing,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said in July.

“We continue to adhere to the rule of law and consider the recent killings of high-profile figures as an attempt to erode confidence in the President, whose main platform of governance rests on fighting crimes,” he said. — MDM, GMA News