Garcia: Mayor’s slay wake-up call for PNP
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) reminded the Philippine National Police to do its job to keep the elections peaceful and orderly following the murder of reelectionist Mayor Joel Ruma of Rizal, Cagayan on Wednesday night.
“This should be a wake-up call to the PNP that we will be demanding immediate justice, and they should urgently apprehend the criminals behind this. As long as there are no perpetrators arrested or no one are put behind bars, the public will not believe that the upcoming elections will be safe,” Comelec Chair George Garcia told reporters on Thursday.
On Friday, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil ordered a “thorough and focused investigation” of Ruma’s murder as he paid his last respects to the 54-year-old mayor, who was shot and killed during a campaign rally at Barangay Illuru Sur at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“Our people’s safety is our responsibility, and they feel more secure when they see us on the streets, especially in areas with high tensions during election season. This is why we are ramping up our police visibility to ensure peace and order,” Marbil said in a statement released by the PNP.
The PNP chief also met with the Rizal police force and with members of the Special Investigation Task Group leading the investigation during his Cagayan visit.
“The task group is carefully examining evidence, including [security camera] footage from the crime scene, and identifying potential witnesses, ensuring that all [pieces of] evidence [are] preserved for proper use in court,” the PNP said.
Investigators said the fatal shot, coming from a sniper’s rifle, entered through Ruma’s right shoulder and exited through his upper back. The mayor died while being taken to the Tuao District Hospital.
Ruma’s aide, Merson Abiguebel, and supporter Melanie Talay, who were wounded during the attack, have been transferred to the Cagayan Valley Medical Center in the provincial capital Tuguegarao City.
Recommendation
Garcia, when asked if it would be prudent for the Comelec to place the town under its control with only 18 days before election day, said doing so immediately would be “premature.”
He said they would wait for the formal report from the PNP and its recommendations, including deployment of additional security forces, since Rizal was not included in the Comelec’s list of election hotspots.
“At this point, we are looking if the area can be placed under Comelec control, or in the ‘red’ category at the very least. This killing may just be a start of a wider series of crime and violence in the town that can happen in the future,” Garcia said.
“Red,” the highest level among the colored category of areas of concern during elections, indicates that a particular area has serious and grave security threats and a history of election-related violence.
The Comelec earlier put two areas in the country under its control — Buluan in Maguindanao del Sur and Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao del Norte — due to reported incidents of violence in these towns.
Daughter’s account
Ruma’s daughter, Jamila, took to Facebook to recount what happened.
“My father was shot dead right in front of my eyes. Then there it was — one shot, fired straight at my dad. He fell down, and then multiple shots followed. My mom and I couldn’t move… It was raining gunshots for about 20 minutes,” she wrote.
Still reeling from the loss, she added: “Words cannot describe how much we are hurting… Please continue to watch over us.”
Police Maj. Sherwin Viernes, Rizal police chief, has been relieved of duty for command responsibility and replaced by Police Capt. John Jefferson Bumanglag as officer-in-charge.
