Slain Tanauan mayor leaves behind economically competitive city

TANAUAN CITY, Philippines (The Filipino Connection) — This city is grieving over the harrowing assassination of its local chief executive who left behind a city that is among the Philippines’ top 45 most competitive urban areas.

An early morning flag ceremony in city hall was the last for Tanaueños to see Antonio Halili, shot in the chest by an unidentified gunman. He was dead on arrival at the C.P. Reyes Medical Center at about 8:45 a.m. here.

The chilling scene happened at around 8:10 a.m., towards the end of the national anthem, according to video that went viral on Facebook. City public information chief Gerry Yson Laresma captured the ceremony in his 62-second video.

Halili sported jeans, a blue casual blazer with a pink-colored shirt underneath.

“Lupa nang araw…” Bang! The shouting followed: “Ah! Ah!”

A lady screamed “Oh my God!” while a gentleman cursed in Filipino as the video flashed scenes of the concrete lot just outside the city hall building.

A CCTV footage showed that, after being shot, Halili bent and went behind of fellow officials. He then lay on the ground with some men calling for help; some man wearing civilian clothing then fired gunshots to fend off further shots from the unidentified assailant.

Police investigators said a highly-skilled gunman positioned himself in an elevated grassland barely 150 meters away from where Halili was attending the flag ceremony.

But the scene was the brutal end of the anti-drug mayor's stripping of police powers by the National Police Commission. Late last year, Halili was allegedly linked to the drug trade together with a mayor of San Rafael town in Bulacan.

Halili and San Rafael Mayor Cipriano Violago were among 20 mayors that the Napolcom stripped of administrative control over the local police in November last year. After this order, a “Walk of Truth” by residents was staged by cause-oriented groups and residents of Tanauan City to rally behind Halili.

Since the Napolcom order, the Philippine National Police has yet to release even preliminary results of its investigation into Halili’s alleged links to drug syndicates. Halili had, even before the Napolcom order, been parading apprehended drug suspects across the main commercial area of the city, called the “Walk of Shame.”

Halili’s approach may differ from that of President Rodrigo Duterte, whose Operation Tokhang by PNP has led to the surrender of drug users and the alleged extrajudicial slaying of various drug suspects across the country.

Halili was quoted in People’s Journal as saying that a senior officer of the PNP is reportedly behind efforts to link him to illegal drugs and eventually unseat him as city mayor. Halili was also reportedly exonerated of the allegation by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

At the time the Napolcom order was issued, Superintendent Audie Madrideo, former city police chief, cleared Halili of the drug allegations. However, Madrideo was relieved from his post last November 6.

Chief Superintendent Edward Carranza, regional police chief, has formed a task force to investigate Halili's death. Operation Iron Curtain, or a dragnet operation, is also underway.

Halili's last week in office

Halili last staged a “Walk of Shame” on May 27 with a budol-budol suspect paraded on the city’s streets. That was the last “Walk of Shame” posted by Tanauan City’s Hope Facebook page, the official social media page of the city government.

The said apparently introduced himself as a bank employee of East West Bank to trick a vegetable vendor into paying him P2,500 in exchange for processing their loans. The suspect, who hails from Dasmariñas City, Cavite, was eventually accosted by the Civil Security Unit and paraded in public before he was turned over to the police. He declined requests for interviews.

The Tanauan City’s Hope Facebook page though has photos of Halili administering civil marriages and attending to other duties at city hall during his last week in office.

The last three years of the annual Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) had ranked Tanauan City as among the upper first tier–of three tiers–of cities as the most competitive.

In 2017, Tanauan City, some 21.7 kilometers from Lipa City, ranked 44th among all cities ranked in the CMCI, and 33rd among all component cities.

Halili was first elected in 2013 and was in the middle of his second three-year term.

When Duterte was sworn into office in mid-2016, Halili told The Filipino Connection that his city government’s “Walk of Shame” differs from Oplan Tokhang. Halili does not approve of the current government’s alleged approach to kill drug suspects, noting that the government should instead concentrate on cutting the sources.

Vice Mayor Jhoanna Corona and Councilor Benedicto Corona will assume the posts of mayor and vice mayor, respectively. Vice Mayor Corona was by Halili's right side during the fatal flag-raising ceremony.

The Filipino Connection is a regional partner of Philstar.com

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