DILG urged to replace fugitive Batangas mayor

Frustrated residents of a town in Batangas are asking Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento to act on the leadership void left by the absence of a mayor who has been running from the law over alleged rape and other crimes.

Local government services at the municipality of Mataasnakahoy, Batangas have been in shambles with the disappearance of Mayor Jay Ilagan since March 2014, the subject of at least three warrants of arrest for rape, human trafficking and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.