Junnie junks allegations in the "Somabong" VCD

Celestino "Junnie" Martinez, Jr. yesterday laughed off insinuations that it was his family being referred to as the boss, in a video compact disc, allegedly by robbery suspect Joel Somabong that ordered the bank robberies and the assassination plot against two officials in the province.

Junnie, in an interview over station dyLA, rejected as trash the existence of a VCD showing a man who introduced himself as Somabong and tagged a family of politicians as behind his life of illegal activities. He said he would get a copy but would throw it into the trash bin.

Without naming names, Junnie believed his political opponents are the mastermind in the spread of these VCDs as an advanced demolition job against his family's plan to field his son, Mayor Celestino "Tining" Martinez III of Bogo town, for the gubernatorial post in next year's elections.

Governor Gwen Garcia, who defeated Junnie in the last polls, said, "Ngano, sila di-ay gi-refer adto? In fact, if you would recall yesterday I declined to comment because what was printed in the newspaper has no specific names. So I am surprised of such a reaction."

"Sila di-ay gi-refer? Are they the politicians being referred to?" Gwen countered when asked for comment on Junnie's statement.

The man on VCD, as Somabong, said he was a henchman of a politician, one of the leaders of this politician's goons, and participated in the plot to assassinate provincial police director Vicente Loot and wife, Mayor Maria Luisa of Daanbantayan town.

This "Somabong" claimed he came out in the open to preempt this politician's plan to liquidate him after denying he was the leader of the politician's goons.

"Somabong" claimed, on VCD, he and his men were about to assassinate Loot last May 13 but the plan was aborted upon the advise of his boss-politician, purportedly to wait first for his parents to leave for abroad so they would not be implicated.

But Junnie reacted to such allegation, saying, "Unsa ma'y ilang atraso sa amo? Nganong patyon man namo? He added he did not know Somabong personally although he was not sure if his son Tining knew this man. -Cristina C. Birondo and Gregg M. Rubio