Vice mayor’s murder case solved soon - investigators

ILOILO CITY, Philippines - Investigators in the murder of Ajuy town vice mayor have said that the case is nearly solved as they have already identified the gunmen. However, they are still facing a blank wall as to the motive behind the crime. The police, especially members of the Task Force Rojas, are now doing their best effort to catch the gunmen who murdered Ajuy vice Mayor Ramon Rojas last Thursday. Investigators, headed by Iloilo Provincial Police Office chief Ricardo De la Paz, have recently identified the gunmen Edgar Cordero and Dennis Cartagena. According to authorities, Cordero (an alleged leader of a robbery group in the province) is a resident of the village of Sibaguan in Lambunao town, Iloilo and Cartagena is from San Enrique town. De la Paz said the two are the key to knowing the real motive in the case, adding that they are now looking into various angles to solve the killing of Rojas. The two motives being looked into right now by the investigators are politics and the previous illegal fishing issue in the town. However, Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas Sr. said the politics and illegal fishing angles are shallow, as there is no stiff political competition in Ajuy and the Rojases have no enemies in the town. With regards to the illegal fishing issue, Tupas said this could also be far from being the motive. "Kun illegal fishing daw manabaw man na kay wala man na ginahimo ni Rojas (Illegal fishing is a shallow motive since Rojas have not done anything)," Tupas said. He, however, stressed that the said motives, including other speculations regarding the murder, could not be discounted at this time as the murderers have not been captured and it is not yet certain why they killed Rojas. The cops meantime are certain that sooner, with the efforts of Task Force Rojas and other concerned parties; they would be able to catch the two gunmen. They are also certain that the two were hired to kill Rojas. On Monday, murder charges were already filed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) against the identified gunmen. The witnesses, on the other hand, are in safe hands according to De la Paz and Tupas. One of the witnesses is allegedly the owner of the shack were the two gunmen stayed before the incident happened. The other one is Barangay Captain Armando Nacional of Ajuy, who was jogging with Rojas early in the morning of May 22 in Barangay Central when the incident happened. Nacional was able to evade the attackers during the incident. According to information, Cordero was the triggerman while Cartagena was the one who drove the motorcycle when they shot Rojas several times. De la Paz said they have already identified the mastermind but are trying to convince a person, who reportedly heard the assassination plot against Rojas, because the person behind the incident is reportedly very influential and can afford to hire guns-for-hire to kill an enemy. Moreover, the said mastermind allegedly paid Cordero and Cartagena P150,000 for their service. Police Regional Director Isagani Cuevas said that they are now starting manhunt operation for Cordero and Cartagena through the help of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). "We are convincing another witness that could pin down the mastermind so that charges would be filed against him. As of this time, we can say that somehow the identification of the two assailants really helped us in solving the crime," Cuevas said. "We are also appealing the people of Ajuy who know the mastermind to surface and inform us so that justice would be served to the Rojas family," he added. Task Force Rojas are now giving more weight to politics and family feud over business as the motives behind the incident. – Sun.Star Iloilo