No revenge, vows wife of slain Abra town mayor

BANGUED, Abra – No revenge.

Thus said Soledad Benwaren as her husband, Tineg town mayor Clarence Benwaren, was laid to rest in this capital town yesterday, nine days after he was assassinated while standing as wedding sponsor in a church in Calauan, Laguna.

Soledad, 35, a hearing officer of the National Police Commission in the Cordilleras, said their family would not retaliate contrary to speculations that her husband’s supporters would avenge his death.

"Saan kami nga agibales (We would not take revenge)," she said.

Text messages have been circulating here that a vigilante group, calling itself the Alliance of Brave, Reformed and Armed Brothers (ABRA Brothers), has vowed to retaliate.

Police, however, have yet to establish if such a group exists at all.

In yesterday’s burial rites, Benwaren’s family and supporters carrying placards condemning the killing, escorted the mayor’s body to the St. James the Elder Church and then to the Catholic cemetery in Barangay Bangbangar.

About 130 policemen and 15 soldiers were fielded for Benwaren’s burial.

Most placards hinted that politics was involved in the killing. One placard read, "Your death is our struggle versus the Conjugal Dictatorship," apparently referring to Abra Gov. Vicente Valera and his wife, Bangued Mayor Ma. Zita Valera.

The Valeras could not be reached for comment. Earlier, the Benwaren clan ignored Mayor Valera’s offer to hold necrological services for the slain Tineg mayor.

Gov. Valera earlier had condemned the killing.

Tineg Vice Mayor Edwin Crisologo was also linked to the killing but he denied the allegation. – With Teddy Molina