Politics eyed in Ecija vice mayor's slay

LICAB, Nueva Ecija, Philippines  – Police are eyeing politics as one of the motives behind last week’s killing of this town’s vice mayor, who won in last May’s elections by landslide.

Police Superintendent Manny Hidalgo, deputy provincial police director for operations and head of Task Force Caraang, said they are investigating the possibility that the attack against Vice Mayor Luisito Caraang was politically motivated. “There is a strong possibility that it could be tied to politics,” Hidalgo told The STAR.

Caraang, 46, along with two others were on their way home after jogging when fired upon by two heavily armed suspects riding in tandem aboard a motorcycle Saturday morning. Caraang died at a local hos­pital. 

The political angle was explored by the task force as Caraang’s brother Alberto, barangay chairman of Casimiro, is seeking re-election.

Hidalgo said that while Caraang’s murder might be politically motivated, they are not discounting the possibility of personal grudge among others.

Mayor Willy Domingo told The STAR that the political angle is strong because Caraang has been campaigning heavily for Alberto in Casimiro where there is intense political rivalry.

“If you consider the fact that his brother was running for re­election, that’s when politics comes into play because Ca­raang was his brother’s number one campaigner,” he said.

Domingo, however, said he does not want to pre-empt the investigation being conducted by the members of the task force, including the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the National Bureau of Investigation. “The investigation is still in progress so let’s wait for the results of the investigation,” he said.

He said their priority is to ensure that justice is served the victim and the perpetrators of the killing arrested.     

The slain vice mayor won last May by 4,000 votes over the then-incumbent vice mayor Oliver Villaroman, son of ex-three term mayor Tomas Villaroman. – With Ric Sapnu