Bayan Muna leader survives slay try

ILAGAN, Isabela — A ranking leader of the party-list group Bayan Muna in the province survived an attempt on her life when unidentified gunmen fired at her in Echague town the other day.

Elena Mendiola, 53, secretary-general of Bayan Muna-Isabela chapter, cheated death after two motorcycle-riding gunmen failed to hit her in front of her residence in Barangay Silauan, Echague at about 9:30 a.m. last Friday.

Mendiola said she managed to run back inside their house after hearing the first gunshot.

She said she was cleaning her frontyard when her attackers suddenly appeared a few meters away and "suspiciously" got near her.

Chief Superintendent Jefferson Soriano, Cagayan Valley police director, said Echague policemen found three empty caliber .45 shells at the site of the attack.

A Bayan Muna member, who asked not to be identified, claimed that the military could have a hand in the incident. He, however, refused to elaborate.

"Bayan Muna strongly condemns the attempt to kill Mrs. Baby Mendiola… We cannot and shall not be cowed by these acts of terrorism," he said.

Meanwhile, Maj. Victor Tanggawohn Jr., spokesman of the Army’s 5th Infantry Division based in Isabela, dismissed speculations that the military was behind the slay attempt.

"This is not and will never be the handiwork of the military. We abhor such kind of violence," he said.

The Isabela incident was followed later in the day by the gunslaying of Bayan Muna member Arturo Caloza, 28, and the wounding of his two colleagues in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

Caloz’s death brought to 13 the number of militant leaders killed in Central Luzon this year, Karapatan, a human rights group, said.

Last Thursday, Santiago Teodoro, a Bayan Muna leader in Bulacan, was shot dead in Barangay Barihan, Malolos City.