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By Armand M. Galang, Correspondent
PALAYAN CITY: The provincial
government of Nueva Ecija put up on Monday a P500,000 reward for
anyone who could provide information leading to the arrest of
suspects in the twin slay of Mayor-elect Alfredo Vendivil Sr. and
Vice-Mayor-elect Virgilio Vendivil of Lupao town.
From witnesses’ descriptions
the police were able to construct an identikit of three of the
killers.
Gov. Tomas Joson 3rd said he
approved the allocation of the reward money after his son, incumbent
senior board member and incoming Vice-Gov. Edward Thomas Joson,
sponsored the resolution.
“We wish to give a much bigger
amount if only to solve the case but we have limited resources,
unlike the United States,” Joson said.
The provincial government, in
support of the police pursuing criminals, has established a reward
system and the production of posters of the identikits or actual
pictures of wanted suspects.
Joson also announced plans to
meet, in coordination with Senior Supt. Alfredo Caballes, acting
provincial police director, owners and administrators of cockpit
arenas in Nueva Ecija to create a security system against killings
within such establishments.
Joson, whose family owns cockpit
arenas, admitted it was hard to impose gun ban inside arenas without
the help of the local police. “In our cockpits, we are abele to
impose a gun ban. If they don’t hand over their firearms, then
they are not allowed in. But other cockpits are different.”
Before the Vendivil murders,
which happened inside the San Jose City Cockpit Arena at about 11:30
p.m. last Friday, several other killings had happened in similar
places.
Among these were the gang raid in
the Gapan City Cockpit Arena where two sons of then mayoralty
aspirant Boy Pascual, two security guards and a doctor were killed;
the raid in a cockpit arena in Jaen where a man was seriously
wounded; and the killing of a policeman who just emerged from a
cockpit in Santa Rosa, Nueva Ecija.
Last December Association of
Barangay Captains President Ogie Santiago of Cabanatuan City was
killed after a cockfight in Daang Sarile, Cabanatuan City.
Joson said the government will
set a security standard for these cockpit arenas.
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