Goons shot an LP supporter in Loay

The Philippine National Police issued yesterday a stern warning on goons who are commissioned to terrorize the electorate that the full hands of the law will not be cowed by their presence during the May 9 election.

PNP Prov’l Director Dennis Agustin issued marching orders to his 47 station commanders to monitor the movements of armed men in their respective municipalities who will be operating this week until election day.

Reports reaching The Chronicle revealed that some politicians have recently acquired firearms and ammunition for use in the coming election.

The PNP provincial director said he is closely monitoring the first reported presence of armed goons who sowed terror to folks in the hinterland barangay of Tacdog Dacu in Loay town in broad daylight last Friday where a driver of  Loay mayoralty candidate Jescelo “Ondoy” Adiong was mauled by the armed men.

Loay might now be included in the Comelec Watch List together with Inabanga, Buenavista, Danao, Antequera, Bilar, Tubigon , Ubay and Clarin.

P/Supt. Nicomedes Olaivar, commander of the Prov’l Public Safety Command/SWAT who led the responding team in the Loay incident said eye witnesses saw no less than nine armed men escorting the distribution of cash to voters in the area. There was confrontation after some of the residents refused to receive the money given them.  The armed men were on board two vans and a red Mitsubishi Strada.

Eye witnesses told the responding PNP and SWAT teams that the armed men strafed a sari-sari store near the barangay hall where a certain William Solera, driver of the LP mayoralty bet was taking refuge. Solera said he ran towards the store upon noticing the men approaching him.

Solera shortly came out so the strafing would stop, raised his arms as a sign of surrender and took off his shirt to show that he was unarmed.

But despite his “surrender,” three of the armed men mauled Solera and pointed a cocked handgun at his head, but one of their companions shouted that the police were on the way.

The armed men immediately left the area before responding policemen arrived.

Special Weapons and Tactic (SWAT) team from the Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO) also arrived shortly.

Investigators recovered a caliber 45 live ammunition, three empty shells and a slug from the crime scene.

Loay Police Station received the report about the shooting incident from a concerned citizen at around 10:30 a.m. that day.

Uniformed personnel of Loay Police Station, led by PO3 Gifredo Hampac and AFP personnel, led by Cpl. Garcia proceeded to the area to verify report.

Investigation showed that the armed men suddenly stopped in front of the sari-sari store owned by Elizabeth Enobio, a 59-year-old resident of the area, and fired directly at the store where Solera, Jeremias Banas and Zosimo Enobio had sought refuge.

Olaivar of the SWAT team told The Chronicle he went to the house of the LP mayoralty bet Adiong to request that his driver who was the victim of the mauling incident should file his formal complaint

The SWAT head likewise dropped by the residence of Rochelle Brigette Imboy, the daughter of gubernatorial bet, Loay outgoing Mayor May Imboy who is running for mayor against Adiong. However, none of the Imboys came out to talk with the responding team.

Efforts to contact the lady mayoralty bet proved futile until presstime.

Olaivar said this is the second time that an LP supporter became a victim of election related violence.

Just on March 19, a rally emcee of former mayor William Jao, identified as Amado Nitollama Jr., was shot dead while sleeping beside his wife inside their residence in Macaas, Tubigon.

Nitollama, 51, a former barangay kagawad of Macaas, came from an LP rally that dawn.

He arrived home at around 1 a.m. after attending a political caucus of LP municipal slate in barangay Pinayagan Sur where he was the emcee.

At around 2:30 a.m. somebody shot Nitollama from the window of the house.

Nitollama sustained a gunshot wound in the left side of his head that caused his instantaneous death.

On April 15, at around 12:05 a.m., a certain Joel Sabang, a resident of Lilo-an, Cebu who serves as bodyguard of incumbent Tubigon Mayor Marlon Amila, and another guy identified only as Larry—a resident of Libertad, Tubigon—allegedly harassed a certain Jose Liam Jao, another supporter of former mayor Jao.

Jose, a 35-year-old resident of barangay Pinayagan Norte, Tubigon, reported to the police that he was with two companions then—both minors, on their way home on board a motorcycle after attending the political rally of the LP mayoralty candidate in barangay Guiwanon.

Sabang and the guy named Larry, on board a DT motorcycle, allegedly followed Jose and his companions near BNYU Building along the road intersection at the Poblacion area of the town and allegedly harassed them.

At around 1:30 a.m., SPO1 Omar-Khan Valdez, PO1 Mario Tecson, SPO3 Genaro Boja, and PO1 Gerald Reyes of the municipal police station arrested Sabang and his companion in the presence of the former mayor at Sitio 4 in barangay Pinayagan Norte.

During his arrest, Sabang yielded a Colt MKIV series 80 caliber .45 pistol with serial number 74165 with one magazine containing six cal.45 ammunitions; and one Ingram MII caliber 9mm submachine gun with serial number 337991 with one magazine containing 15 caliber 9mm ammunitions.

On November 23 last year, Engr. Ermilando Torregosa, a known political adviser of LP mayoralty candidate in Buenavista—Roseller Bañez, was shot dead in Tubigon.

Torregosa, 73, was with three companions when he was gunned down at around 10 p.m. that day across McDonald’s near the Tubigon port area.

He was with Bañez, Jojo Mero—LP candidate for municipal councilor in Buenavista, and Buenavista Municipal Engineer Modesta Centillas who had been reassigned as a municipal market administrator.

Torregosa and his companions had just arrived from Cebu City then. Their trip to Cebu City was to follow up on the case they had filed against the incumbent mayor of Buenavista before the Office of the Ombudsman and the Civil Service Commission.

Torregosa, a resident of Barangay Centro in Tubigon, assisted Bañez and company in filing their case against the incumbent mayor of Buenavista.

In a shootout on February 5, the SWAT Team killed one Ramel Tradio, also known as “Ete”, who had been tagged in murder of Torregosa.

The police team tracked down Tradio in hi hide-out in the sub-village of Hulganan in Barangay Bantuan, Buenavista when they served two warrants of arrest against him—one for robbery and another for qualified theft and murder.

But Tradio opened fire, instead of yielding himself peacefully.

The recent murders of LP supporters had already alarmed the Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO) prompting Provincial Director Dennis Agustin to initiate a peace covenant signing among local candidates in the towns to call on political groups to shun from maintaining goons.

Tubigon candidates signed the covenant in the afternoon of March 18, and 12 hours later, the former kagawad of barangay Macaas who served as emcee in LP caucuses convened by former mayor Jao was shot dead