Trece Martires mayor cleared of vice mayor’s murder — DOJ

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has dismissed a murder complaint against Trece Martires Mayor Melandres de Sagun in connection with the killing of city vice mayor Alexander Lubigan in July last year.

Quoting the National Prosecution Service, Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said the complaints against Luis Abad Jr. and Ronel Bersamina were also dismissed.

Ariel Paiton, the alleged gunman, was indicted for two counts of murder while and councilor Lawrence Arca was tagged as an accessory, Perete said.

A copy of the investigating prosecutor's resolution was not immediately available for reference. Perete said the case was resolved last week.

De Sagun had faced a complaint for murder and frustrated murder over the fatal daylight ambush attack on Lubigan and his driver, Romulo Gillemer, in early July 2018.

During the preliminary investigation, De Sagun through filings said no evidence of the complainants identified him as the perpetrator or mastermind of the attack.

Interior chief Eduardo Año earlier said the killing may have been politically motivated, as Lubigan was shot dead a day after he announced his intention to run for mayor in the 2019 elections.

De Sagun, however, claimed he had no motive to order the killing, a claim that the vice mayor's wife, Gemma, had disagreed with when she reasoned that her husband's death removed an opponent to the De Saguns in the 2019 elections.

Lubigan's killing closely followed those of Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili and General Tinio, Nueva Ecija mayor Ferdinand Bote. — RSJ, GMA News