BANGUED, Abra — Documents seeking the ouster of Chief Supt. Eugene G. Martin, regional police director, were tainted with irregularities.
Documents purportedly signed by officials and farmer-leaders of Tineg, a remote town of this province were found “fictitious.”
Five members of the Tineg municipal council signed a manifesto (in Ilocano) denying having approved Resolution No. 16, series of 2008, entitled "Condemning the continuous spate of political killings in Tineg and other criminal acts which remain unsolved up to the present."
Councilors Ricardo M. Bangquig, Rey L. Tandi, Solidad P. Zapata, Henry A. Saguid, and Welbert C. Calubing said they never received a notice of the holding of the council session on May 21, 2008 when the supposed resolution was approved.
They added the Tineg municipal council never conducted a single session since the councilors were elected much more a petition seeking the ouster of Martin.
This makes the passage of the purported resolution highly irregular and tainted with fraud, they said.
In a separate joint manifesto, local leaders, barangay officials, members of multi-sectoral groups and residents in Tineg denounced two women for allegedly misrepresenting the farmers and women’s groups in the town, saying they have no right to accuse Martin of alleged failure to stop the spate of killings.
It was stated in the manifesto that it was during his leadership at the police regional office when the unscrupulous activities of local officials were uncovered and exposed.
A certification issued by Carmelita G. Baga, municipal agriculturist of Tineg, stated that one of the alleged women leaders of Barangay Caganayan is not the president of the group or even a member of the Caganayan Farmers Association organized.
In a hand-written letter, the other supposed woman leader, a day care worker at the municipal social welfare and development office of Tineg, said that she was made to sign a document but she was not informed of the content.
She was later surprised to know that the document she had signed sought the ouster of Martin.
This, as the purported call for the relief of Martin dominated the discussions in last week’s peace and order council meeting in Abra.
Abra Gov. Eustaquio Bersamin convened the peace and order council to seek the cooperation of political, church and barangay leaders and non-governmental organizations to stop what was perceived as the return of lawlessness in the province.
But the meeting was focused on the effort of Tineg Mayor Edwin Crisologo to unseat Martin, whom the former blamed for the breakdown of peace and order in the country’s third poorest province.
During the meeting, Crisologo was left alone in his difficult task of ousting the Cordillera police chief as Bersamin and those in attendance rallied behind Martin and Abra police director Senior Supt. Alex Pumecha.
Bersamin even issued a statement of support for Martin and Pumecha whom he credited for the return of normalcy in Abra, once tagged as the murder capital of the country.
“Their records only speak of their sincerity and commitment in maintaining peace and order in the Cordilleras. Gen. Martin and Col. Pumecha’s technical expertise in confronting insurgency, armed conflicts and political upheavals has also withstood the test of time and different political eras,” said Bersamin in his one-page resolution.
In a letter dated May 23 to President Arroyo and Philippine National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr., Crisologo sought the relief of Martin whom he blamed for the rise of political killings and human rights abuses in his town.
He claimed that Martin and Pumecha did not lift a finger to solve the ambush-slays of Dominador Balucas and Renato Liya, the killing of his wife, Brenda Crisologo; the fatal shooting of Sangguniang Bayan member Resty Eduarte and three others, and the recent murder of another councilor, Pedro Enon Sr.
Martin told newsmen the call for his relief was “hatched by people who do not want peace to prevail in Abra.”
He said Crisologo should not blame the police alone for the outbreak of violence in his town because “being the mayor he also has to do his share on the problem.”
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