Daraga mayor still in Philippines, says PNP

MANILA, Philippines — Mayor Carlwyn Baldo of Daraga, Albay has not left the country, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said yesterday.

The Department of Justice has issued a lookout bulletin order for Baldo and other personalities implicated in the murder of Ako Bicol party-list representative Rodel Batocabe and his bodyguard Senior Police Officer 1 Orlando Diaz.

The PNP earlier tagged Baldo as the mastermind in the killing of Batocabe, who was the incumbent mayor’s opponent in the coming midterm elections.

Despite the testimonies of several suspects who are now in police custody and who have pointed to the mayor as the mastermind, Baldo has vehemently denied that he ordered Batocabe’s assassination.

Batocabe and Diaz were shot dead by armed men as they were boarding a vehicle after a gift-giving activity for senior citizens in Barangay Burgos in Daraga last Dec. 22.

Seven people were also injured in the shooting, six of whom suffered gunshot wounds.

Albayalde said they have not communicated with Baldo since the politician was implicated in Batocabe’s killing.

“I don’t know with the local police but we at national headquarters have not,” he said.

The major breakthrough in the case came when Baldo’s former associate Emmanuel Judavar surfaced and divulged the plot to kill Batocabe.

Judavar told probers that he was part of the plan but he backed out sometime in October because of a personal conflict with Baldo. This was corroborated by another suspect, Christopher Naval, the mayor’s security aide who revealed that the plan to assassinate Batocabe was hatched sometime in August 2018 when the lawmaker announced his bid for the mayoral post of Daraga.

Baldo allegedly offered P5 million for the hit job the following month and gave a downpayment of P250,000 for the purchase of guns and motorcycles.