Batangas governor tipped of slay plot, no clear action taken

Tips point to the direction of syndicates, but whether it was because of the governor's anti-crime drive is yet to be established. One week before the assassination attempt on him, Batangas governor Armando Sanchez received tips from “friends" in the police and military about a plot on his life. Why he did not act on the tips remains unclear. Batangas provincial administrator Rolando Geron on Saturday said that Sanchez got the tips from the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). “Sabi sa kanya one week ago, nandiyan na naman ang mga sindikato (They told him a week ago that the syndicates are here again)," Geron said in a radio program. He was referring to crime groups that Sanchez's anti-crime drive may have affected, but did not elaborate if these were involved in organized crime or gambling. Sanchez is said to have crossed paths with various syndicates because of his campaign against them, but there have been allegations also about his connection to jueteng operations in the province. Geron said Sanchez got the tips either personally from CIDG head in Batangas Jesus Versoza, or from “friends in the ISAFP." Geron did not say why the governor did not add security precautions. The provincial administrator, however, discounted the possibility that former Sen. Gregorio Honasan or the Communist Party of the Philippines could be behind the assassination try. “Ang daming missing pieces yung theory kay Gringo. Noong nasa serbisyo pa si Col. Honasan magkaibigan na sila (There are just too many missing pieces in the theory linking Honasan. Besides, Honasan and the governor are friends even when Honasan was still in the military)," he said. Sanchez was injured Thursday night, June 1, but his bodyguard and driver were killed after their Hummer H-2 exploded in front of the provincial government hall. Initial investigation showed Sanchez had just boarded the vehicle and the driver started the engine when the bodyguard saw smoke coming out from it. The bodyguard, Eric Landicho, pushed Sanchez out of the Hummer moments before it exploded and burned. Bomb experts said evidence retrieved from the crime scene showed a C-4 plastic explosive detonated using a cell-phone signal. GMANews.TV