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MOUNTAIN Province: The daughter of slain mayor Caesar
Rafael of Paracelis town on Wednesday called on the police to
immediately solve the case of her father even as she called on their
supporters for sobriety.
Rafael, 61 years old, served as
mayor of Paracelis for almost two decades, died instantly when he
was ambushed by armed suspects about 2:45 p.m. of December 25 at
Sitio Sinigpit in Barangay Butique while on his way back to his
residence from his pasture land.
The slain mayor’s vehicle, a
blue Toyota Hilux, sustained 60 bullet holes while police said the
armed suspects, about 10 of them, used M-16 rifles as primary
weapons.
“The brutal killing of my
father is too painful for us and his supporters because it happened
on Christmas Day. We hope that the police will immediately solve the
case,” were the words of Mayor Ana Marie Rafael-Baanag of Natonin
and daughter of the slain mayor.
In wake of the killing of Rafael,
Banaag appealed to the relatives and ardent supporters of his father
not to make any drastic moves, saying that they should leave it to
the police to do their job.
The lady mayor said it’s too
early for her and members of her family to say what the possible
motives of the killing were or who may be responsible, as their
father did not talk much about politics during family gatherings.
Banaag told The Manila Times that
she could not still believe his father was ambushed and killed,
saying that the latter had been receiving threats and had survived
several attempts on his life.
Gov. Maximo Dalog Sr., of
Mountain Province, for his part, said that the killing of Rafael is
the first in the long-time history of politics in the province. He
said he and the officialdom of this landlocked province extended
their deepest condolences to the Rafael family.
As such, Dalog called on the
Mountain Province police headed by Senior Supt. Joseph Adnol to
intensify its investigation in a bid to bring to justice the
suspects, including the mastermind. “I hope that this case will be
solved,” he said.
No less than Ifugao Rep. Solomon
Chungalao, a relative of the slain mayor, also appealed to the
police and other law enforcement agencies to put behind bars the
suspects.
A report from the Mountain
Province police, meanwhile, said that police are still looking into
the reason for the slaying although politics, grudge, and revenge
were being considered as possible motives at this time.
--Harley F. Palangchao
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