Unmask mastermind, slain mayor’s widow urges authorities

Now that seven of her husband’s killers had been charged, the widow of Sta. Rosa, Laguna mayor Leon Arcillas wants authorities to unmask the mastermind next. Myrna Arcillas said the charging of the seven suspected killers of Mayor Arcillas in May 2005 solved “more than 50 percent" of the case but is not complete without going after the mastermind. “Ang mastermind ‘di pa sinasabi pero may link na rin. Umaasa nga kami, sana matutukan ng Philippine National Police at National Bureau of Investigation (The mastermind has not been named but we understand some links have been made. We are hoping the police and the NBI will follow the leads)," Mrs. Arcillas said in an interview on DZRH radio Saturday. She did not categorically say, however, if investigators had informed her about the leads they now have on the mastermind of the killing. Mayor Arcillas and one of his aides were killed in an assassination timed during a mass wedding at city hall in Sta. Rosa in Laguna on May 10, 2005. Last Friday, police charged seven people for the crime, based on the surrender and testimony of a self-confessed lookout, Cipriano Refrea Jr. Charged were gunmen Herminigildo “Pato" Vibal Jr., 27; Arnold David, 21; and Refrea, 27, members of the street gang “Royal Blood Gangsta" allegedly engaged in a gun-for-hire racket. Also charged were mayor Jose Catindig Jr.’s executive assistant Edwin Baqueros; Ricardo “Peter" Pineda; Daniel Yason, a contractor at the Sta. Rosa city hall; and one John Doe. The four, who remained at large, allegedly contacted the gunmen, negotiated for the “contract price" for the assassination of Arcillas and even provided firearms to the hit men. Police said the three suspected gunmen were arrested on December 15. Mrs. Arcilla said the charging of the gunmen should bring back peace to the city, whose residents she said had suffered from “too much politicking." She also said the development vindicated her from accusations that she herself engaged in politicking and that she threatened to kill her husband’s political opponents “Yan ang nakakatawa. May gumagalaw para baligtarin ang pangyayari ... Pero ang aming pamilya tuwang-tuwa, nakita naman may pamamaraan ang Panginoon (It’s funny because there are parties out to reverse the situation. But our family is glad that God worked in His own way)," she said. -GMANews.TV