Bad signs of bloody May 2007 politics

The gruesome assassination of Congressman Luis Bersamin Jr. after he came out from a wedding rite at the Mt.Carmel Church in New Manila, Quezon City late Saturday afternoon turned a rather slow day at the news desk into frenetic pace. While a gory crime like that comes to us without a shock, the only emotional reaction if ever that we have in media, is the heart-pounding coverage of such breaking news.

I must admit I do not know enough about the slain Congressman representing the lone district of Abra except those that have already been reported after his assassination took place. The cold-blooded manner by which the 62-year old Bersamin was killed appeared to be handiworks of professional hitmen. His assassins waited for their prey to come out of the church. But still, the hitmen did not even respect the sacred grounds of the church to carry out their heinous crime.

The late Congressman, who is now on his second term in Congress, belonged to the Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kampi) party of President Arroyo. The slain solon is reportedly running for Abra governorship in next year’s elections. He was the brother of Court of Appeals justice Lucas Bersamin whose daughter is the bride in that fateful wedding rite.

The assassination of Bersamin came at a time a suspected car bomb attack nearly killed Pasig City Rep.Robert "Dodot" Jaworski Jr. last week. Dodot was with his younger brother in the Toyota Innova van while his other ten-man security were cruising at C-5 Highway on board two other vehicles. Fortunately for him, whoever planted the improvised explosive device (IED) was clumsy or amateurish in putting it together. So before it could harm anyone, the IED emitted smoke and alerted the intended victims and they jumped out of the vehicle before it exploded.

It took the police a day later to report traces of nitrate they found at the vehicle to indicate the use of IED after initially pointing to faulty electric wiring as its cause. The case turned comic when the police authorities formed an investigating team which they initially christened as Task Force Innova. But they immediately made a turn around on this name after Toyota Philippines cried foul. So those Einsteins renamed the probe team as Task Force Anovi, obviously the anagram of the Innova.

Dodot admitted he was definitely not popular to his enemies in politics and among druglords after he exposed the activities of the "shabu tiangge" in Pasig City. It is either from these two groups he suspects could have the motives to kill him. The neophyte solon is a former basketball star like his namesake father, former Sen.Robert Jaworski, and is the husband of popular sports and entertainment personality Mikee Cojuangco with whom he has two sons. Dodot has indicated plans to run in the coming May 2007 elections against the son of incumbent Mayor of Pasig City, Vicente Eusebio.

At the height of the attempt on the life of Dodot, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) bared about their having stumbled into an alleged assassination plot against House majority leader Rep.Prospero Nograles, The Davao solon, a rabidly pro-administration Congressman, is supposedly being targeted also by hired killers and that NBI have alerted Nograles about this plot against him. The NBI was tipped off about a hit squad based in Lanao province has been purportedly paid P5 million to carry out the assassination on Nograles when the solon was scheduled to appear in a Christmas party last Dec.13 at the Grand Regal Hotel in Davao City. Nograles, who is also a third-termer Congressman, did not go there after the NBI alerted him and instead sent his son Carlo, who is also his chief of staff, to represent him.

The assassination of an incumbent Congressman was not the first time in the Philippines. We had had similar assassination in recent history like that of slain Masbate Rep.Moises Espinosa. This is not to say the Congressmen are fair game for assassins. What is the common thread in the assassination of Bersamin, the car bomb attack on Dodot, and the assassination plot against Nograles? All three of these House leaders support moves to amend the country’s Constitution. But I don’t think it has something to do with national politics despite the most recent heated debate in Congress over Charter change (Cha-cha).

With Cha-cha out of the picture for the moment, it appears that the onset of season of local politics has started too early for the May 2007 elections. Historically, our country is notoriously known for bloody local political contests and has tendency to end up in clan wars among those with political dynasties to protect. It’s a bitter war that it does not even respect the advent of Christmas season to carry out such political killings.

Fortunately, the "prayer rally" yesterday at Luneta turned out peaceful and there was no untoward incident that could have marred it otherwise. So by now, hopefully everybody has already let off his or her steam after the heated debate on Cha-cha. But this "prayer rally" practically lost its steam early on last week after the House leaders themselves retreated from ramming through their controversial Constituent Assembly (Con-ass).

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), as the lead convenor of this gathering, have again shepherded their flock to support yet another politically-driven activity and mustered enough warm bodies, mostly students coming from the various Catholic-run schools, colleges and universities. They proceeded with the "prayer rally" even after President Arroyo herself has spoken that it is up to the people to determine the right time to do Cha-cha. And to obviously appease her Congress allies, Mrs.Arroyo lauded the "statesmanship" by the House leaders to archive the Con-ass Resolution after they have scandalously approved which actually triggered this "prayer rally."

In a prepared statement she read last Thursday, Mrs.Arroyo practically called for ceasefire on the Cha-cha war, at least for now. The question is for how long this ceasefire would hold? It is safe to say this would be until such time Con-ass might be put back to life by House leaders perhaps at some later date when sentiments for and against it cool down. The Con-ass could be like the dead fiction character Frankenstein that could be revived out of the cold freezer. While "killed" for now, the Con-ass has a life of its own and just waiting for its masters to bring it back to life.

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