Remollo "not worried" of his safety, despite spate of killings of mayors

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — Despite the recent series of killings of local chief executives in Luzon, Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo of Dumaguete City said he is personally "not worried" about his safety.

"Personally I am not worried, but my family and friends are," Remollo told reporters at the sidelines of the launching of the Department of Education's (DepEd) medical and dental mission for students on Monday.

Remollo noted that, so far, he has not received any threats on his life as he has been "a man of peace." He said: "Usahay man gud ang mga tawo ra puy magdala ug hatod og intriga. Unya ang uban mapikon. Akong ingnon sila (political rivals) nga kutob lang ta storya, gitik-gitik, human ana, wala na."

The first week of July was marred with a series of murders of local officials, all of them in Luzon. On July 2, Tanauan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili was shot dead by an alleged sniper while attending the flag raising ceremony in front of the City Hall. Authorities eyed the Halili killing as possibly drug-related.

Two days later, Mayor Ferdinand Bote of General Tinio town in Nueva Ecija was shot dead by yet unidentified "riding-in-tandem" assailants. Then on July 7, three days after the Bote killing, Vice Mayor Alex Lubigan of Trece Martires City in Cavite was killed on the spot by an unknown gunman on a sports utility vehicle (SUV) outside the Korean-Philippines Hospital in his city.

Remollo said that he could not second-guess the motives of the killings, whether drug-related or political rivalry considering the May 2019 elections.

Asked if he has augmented his security due to the recent incidents, the mayor said: "Ang akong theory, bisag unsa kabaga o kadaghan imong security, bisag presidente ka sa Amerika o Santo Papa, kun determined gyud ang killer, maigo gyud ka. Snipers na may gipanggamit ron."

Remollo was also confident that such killings will never happen in Dumaguete, because unlike other areas in the country, there is no such thing as political vendetta in this city.

"Safe ang Dumaguete kay kalooy sa Diyos, ang atong mga politiko dinhi, sa airwaves ra nagbakbakan, maghagitanay og sumbagay pero kutob ra hagit. That's the uniqueness of our city. Walay armed conflict, walay dinumtanay. We do not use force to achieve what we want to achieve," he said. (FREEMAN)