1 dead, 3 hurt in Masbate ambush

Masbate’s bloody political history reared its ugly head in this province as political violence claimed its first victim of the current election season.

A political leader of a mayoralty candidate was killed and three security aides of an incumbent mayor were seriously wounded when their vehicle was ambushed at about 7 p.m. the other night in Sitio Landing, Barangay Washington in San Jacinto, Masbate, police reported yesterday.

San Jacinto Mayor Lene Altiche Arcenas together with four security escorts were in Barangay Washington when they were fired upon by five unidentified armed men.

Senior Superintendent Teddy Caparoso, the new provincial director of Masbate, identified the fatality as Rene Alcala, and the wounded as Victorino Balanding, Wilson Almosara and Herman Serra, an engineer.

Alcala was a political leader of Marvi Espinosa-Bravo, the wife of Rep. Narciso Bravo. Marvi Bravo, who is running for mayor in the town of San Fernando, is politically allied with Arcenas.

"The armed men took the short firearms the security escorts were carrying," said Caparoso, adding that police are still investigating the identity of the perpetrators.

There was no report that the mayor was harmed.

Caparoso said the suspects riddled the vehicle of the victims with bullets from M16 rifles while it was negotiating the rugged road between San Jacinto and San Fernando towns.

Caparoso said they had already launched manhunt operations for the ambush suspects who remained unidentified.

Observers here expressed fear that the incident could trigger a series of politically motivated violence as election day nears.

Reports said that Arcenas is supporting the candidacy of Rep. Emilio Espinosa who is running for governor in Masbate province against Olga Kho, the wife of incumbent Gov. Antonio Kho, who is also seeking a congressional seat in Masbate’s second district.

On the other hand, Marvi Bravo is running for mayor of San Fernando town against re-electionist Helen Bunan.

Masbate province, dominated by only a few but very influential political clans, is noted for high incidents of political harassment and killings during elections.

"We are still determining whether armed men were private armed groups or New People’s Army (NPA) rebels operating in the area," Caparoso said.

Masbate was placed under Comelec control during the May 2004 elections due to intense political rivalry as well as the continued interference of the NPA in the elections.

Meantime, a Lanao del Sur town mayor’s brother was shot dead and the mayor’s bodyguard wounded in a shootout recently in Balod-Kalawi town, Lanao del Sur.

Belated reports from the military said that Tatad Dipatuan, an elder brother of Bacolod-Kalawi town mayor Uztadz Mohaim Dipatuan, was shot dead by the mayor’s bodyguard inside the mayor’s house in the town.

The Philippine Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade commander Col. Ronnie Javier said that the case is being handled by the Lanao del Sur Philippine National Police.

Javier said that he is not sure if the shooting was motivated by politics or an old grudge.

Investigation showed that the victim came to the house of his brother, but was told that the mayor was not in.

An altercation followed between the mayor’s bodyguard and the victim, which led to an exchange of shots that wounded the bodyguard and killed the brother.

"It could be a quarrel between brothers and I am not sure if this was politically motivated," said Javier.

It was learned that the elder brother Tatad Dipatuan was planning to run for town mayor in May, against the incumbent who is seeking re-election to his last term.

The Philippine Army has deployed troops to the town to prevent further violence, according to Javier. – with Cet Dematera, Lino dela Cruz