Home Headlines 10TH MAYOR SLAIN SINCE JULY 2016Bote 3rd engineer-contractor killed in Nueva Ecija...

10TH MAYOR SLAIN SINCE JULY 2016
Bote 3rd engineer-contractor killed in Nueva Ecija in 9 days

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CABANATUAN CITY – There appears worrisome state, as far as personal safety is concerned, for contractors in Nueva Ecija.

In nine days, three well-known engineer- contractors were gunned down, the latest of whom was Ferdinand Bote, 57, who was also mayor of his town Gen. Tinio.

He was gunned down about 5:40 p.m. on the busy highway fronting the National Irrigation Offi ce (NIA) here, just a kilometer away from the city hall and the Cabanatuan Police Station.

Bote, first term mayor of his town, was going out of the NIA-Upper Pampanga River Irrigation Systems compound aboard his sports-utility vehicle when fired at by a gunman using a short firearm.

The fallen mayor was elected under the People’s Reform Party but recently joined the ruling PD-Laban. He was vice mayor from 2010 to 2016 and was elected member of the board of the CL chapter of the Vice Mayor’s League of the Philippines.

Three motives were mentioned by Central Luzon Police Chief Supt. Amador Corpus for the assassination of Bote — illegal drugs connection, local politics, and construction rivalry including the quarrying business.

Immediately, however, the illegal drugs connection was dropped as the mayor was not known to be into this illicit trade, said Gian Carlo Bumanlag, provincial board secretary of Nueva Ecija.

Bumanlag also said the political angle theory also appeared weak as no strong political rivalry yet exists in that municipality though the local elections are coming near.

The stronger motive could be business rivalry, other sources said.

The mayor’s family is known to be in construction business, and it appeared that the mayor was actively supporting the family’s move to engage in bidding for big-ticket projects.

Though about 18 bullets were pumped on the passenger side of the vehicle, only the mayor was fatally hit and his driver, who was unscathed, drove him to the MV Gallego Hospital just across the street where the incident took place.

The mayor was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

Bumanlag said the provincial board in Nueva Ecija is scheduled to tackle during its next session the spate of killings of three engineer-contractors in less than two weeks in this province.

Gov. Charina Umali also announced that the provincial government is giving reward money to those who can give information to identify the perpetrators behind the mayor’s murder.

Last June 23, Manuel Lacsamana, 51, an engineer-contractor who had several government housing contract and other civil engineering projects and was operating 18 gasoline stations, was gunned down at 11:40 p.m. at an intersection of the national highway here by motor- riding suspects.

Quarry

Lacsama was issued by the provincial government a permit to operate a quarry along the Pampanga River and was allowed by the local city government to haul and stockpile quarry materials in his compound in Sitio Mampulog, Barangay Bitas, this city.

His friend and parttime driver, Richard Francisco, said Lacsamana earlier received a text message from an unknown person saying: “Play Jack ‘n Poy with your son (as) to who should go first”.

The engineer who just reportedly laughed off the apparent threat to his life, was killed after attending a meeting of several drivers and operators of trucks hauling quarry materials.

Lacsamana was at one time an “Operation Tulong” of DZRH reporter and was board chair of the Central Luzon Media Association at the time of his death.

Barely 24 hours after Lacsamana’s death, another engineer-contractor Manuel Farin, 64, of Barangay Cabugao, Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija was shot and killed at the terrace of his house by a lone assassin.

He was then drinking liquor with his brother, a brother-inlaw, and a friend when fi red at by the gunman.

Police later said they were looking up a soured partnership contract with some influential people as one of the motives in his killing.

The spate of these killings in Nueva Ecija came on the heels of the investigation by the House of Representatives about the alleged manipulation of the quarrying business and issuance of quarry permits in Nueva Ecija by some infl uential provincial government officials.

The call for investigation by the House was fi led by Rep. Rossana Vergara (3rd district, Nueva Ecija), Rep. Micaela Violago (2nd district, Nueva Ecija), Rep. Magnolia Antonino (4th district, Nueva Ecija), and Rep. Antonio Teves (3rd district Negros Oriental).

It was alleged by the lawmakers that Nueva Ecija’s tax collection for quarrying appeared to be very, very low.

They said that compared to nearby Pampanga, in which the collection in February 2015 was P359 million, Nueva Ecija’s was only P 5.4 million.

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