Rival family denies killing ex-mayor

The Cebedo family, a powerful political clan in Zamboanga del Norte, has dismissed speculation that their long-standing feud with the equally powerful Yap family of Misamis Occidental has something to do with the murder of former Sapang Dalaga mayor Reynaldo Yap.

In a letter sent to STAR, architect Prudencio Cebedo said his family condemns Yap’s murder and wishes that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Police said a long history of violence among the Yaps and the Cebedos, with scores of killing on both sides, could be one of the motives for the ambush.

Yap was gunned down outside a Manila court last Jan. 29 by an unidentified gunman.

Two Cebedo family members, Victorio and Perfecto, were both brutally murdered. Prudencio and his wife Tessie survived an ambush by four gunmen in Ermita, Manila in March 1995.

Prudencio, who claims to have turned his back on politics, said that in their family’s crusade for justice, they have stayed on the legal path.

“Never did we deviate from the rule of law. We are not involved in politics since the death of (Perfecto). We do not subscribe to the culture of violence or to any vendetta,” Prudencio said in his letter.  – Nestor Etolle