MANILA – The mayor of Tanauan City, Batangas – known for making suspected criminals take a “walk of shame” but alleged to have drug ties himself – was gunned down while attending a flag-raising ceremony.
The death of Antonio Halili on Monday has earned condemnation from Malacañang and the Senate.
Investigators are facing a blank wall on the identity of the shooter and the motive, the Calabarzon regional police said.
Halili and other Tanauan local government officials and employees were singing the national anthem at city hall when a gunshot rang out.
The mayor was hit on the chest. He was taken to the CP Reyes Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival, said Chief Superintendent Edward Carranza, Calabarzon police director.
“Alam natin ang Tanauan naman ay napakatahimik na lugar,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque. “Diyan po ngayon ang napakadaming industriya at nakalulungkot po na may ganitong karahasan na nangyari diyan.”
The Malacañang official assured that justice will be served.
“Lahat po gagawin para malutas itong latest na pagpatay na ito,” said Roque. “Bibigyan po natin ng katarungan ang pamilya ni Mayor Halili at ang bayan ng Tanauan sa probinsya ng Batangas.”
Investigators are looking at all angles, “whether political, personal or others,” Carranza said. “Our SOCO (Scene of the Crime Operatives) continue to examine the crime scene for evidence.”
“Our investigators have determined the possible location of the gunman – from where the flag-raising ceremony was held, the gunman was from the northwest,” he added. “We are looking at one to two men.”
In a television interview, Chief Superintendent Renato Mercado, Tanauan police chief, said the shooter was in an elevated position somewhere in front of the open grandstand of the municipal hall.
“Iyong suspect natin was at least 150 meters away from Halili,” Mercado said.
Police said the incident happened past 8 a.m. and Halili was pronounced dead at 8:45 a.m.
PART OF DRUG WAR?
Opposition senator Francis Pangilinan was quick to link the incident to the antidrug campaign of the Duterte administration.
“Maliwanag na ito ay isa pang extrajudicial killing o patayan sa drug war na inilunsad ng gobyerno,” said the Liberal Party president.
Mayor Halili made headlines in 2016 when he paraded suspected drug criminals in public.
But the police included him in their list of high-value targets in the campaign against drugs and subjected him to “Oplan Tokhang.” Halili denied involvement in drug trafficking.
Last year he lost supervision over the local police along with other officials accused of dabbling with the narcotics trade.
“Uulitin natin na ang araw-araw na patayan ng ating mga kababayan ay hindi solusyon at hindi masosolusyunan ang problema sa droga,” said Pangilinan.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the recent killings – including those of priests, prosecutors, and former and incumbent local officials – “in broad daylight and in full view of the public may be suggestive of the impunity and brazenness of those responsible for such acts.”
“The Philippine National Police should feel challenged, if not taunted,” Lacson said as he called for stricter gun control. “They (PNP) must immediately consider stricter firearms control strategies before similar killings could reach ubiquitous levels.”
Reacting to the incident, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the government should “come down hard on the criminals.”
“Criminality in the country has always been alarming, that’s why we want the government to come down hard on the criminals and not contradict efforts to do so.”
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara urged the PNP and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to “exhaust all means to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
A “cowardly act” was how Sen. JV Ejercito described Halili’s killing.
“This should challenge the PNP to further improve their capability to protect the Filipino people,” Ejercito said.
SPECIAL PROBE TEAM
The PNP formed a special investigation task group to look into the death of Halili.
As of this writing police were still waiting for an official report on the incident and will await the task group report, PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde told reporters.
Reports had it that a lone shooter used a high-powered rifle against Halili and escaped after the incident in Barangay Natatas, Tanauan. These are assumptions, said Albayalde.
Albayalde also clarified that it was the decision of the Interior department and the National Police Commission to officially recall Halili’s powers over the local police in December last year.
Despite this, the local police are still duty-bound to work “to maintain peace and security,” he pointed out.
The Department of Justice is ready to provide assistance in the investigation if necessary.
“We’ll let the police do the investigation (for now),” Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in a statement. “I will direct the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to get involved as may be warranted by circumstances.” (With Adrian Stewart Co, PNA and ABS-CBN News/PN)
