2 volunteers of Abra gov shot dead in rival’s town

By Freddie Lazaro 

BANGUED, Abra — Just a week after the filing of candidacies for elective posts, two volunteers in the campaign of reelectionist-Gov. Ma. Jocelyn Bernos of Abra were killed in the bailiwick of one of her political opponents for the same post last Monday.

Rodel Talledo Pilor, 34, and Roland Lazara, from Cayapa, Lagangilang town, both volunteers of Gov. Bernos, were on board a motorcycle when they were fired upon by unknown gunmen at 9:15 a.m. along a road in Barangay Kimmalaba, Dolores, this province, police said.

Homicide investigators collected several bullet casings for a Cal. 5.56 Armalite assault rifle and buckshots for a 12-gauge shotgun at the place were Pilor and Lazara were ambushed.

The lady governor condemned the killing of her two volunteer-supporters saying, “For a long time, the people of Abra had much-awaited a peaceful community.  I believe we have attained this through the help of the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines)… not until this incident though.”

She called on the police to immediately get to the bottom of this and catch the perpetrators “so that justice be given to the family of the victims.”

The governor also made a call to her constituents. “I call my fellow Abrenios to be watchful, vigilant and responsible so that we can always have true peace in Abra,” she said

The lady governor, who is pitted against Dolores Mayor Roberto “JR” Seares Jr. in the coming elections, said “the people of Abra know who are responsible for this,” but stopped short of naming names.

Mayor Seares, the PDP-Laban provincial chairman, also condemned the killing of the two volunteers of Gov. Bernos.

However, he scrutinized the background of the two slain victims. “Let us see who these personalities are… they are hired goons,” he said.

The mayor said he was not condoning the killing of the two, but said: “Pilor had been tagged in a number of cases but was able to bail himself out.”

He said policemen who responded to the scene of the crime told him that the two had gun holsters in their waists but no firearms were seized by investigators.

Stopping short of questioning the purpose of two in being in his town, Mayor Seares said: “Ano rason bakit may holster. Bakit walang baril? That is a big question (Why did they have holsters and no guns? That’s the big question,” he said.