Ambush-slay of Cagayan VM, 5, blamed on politics

By Vince Jacob Visaya 

APARRI, Cagayan -- Former Aparri town councilor Elizabeth Alameda said she believed  politics was behind her husband's killing even as police intensified probe in the ambush-slay that also killed five of the slain vice mayor.   
Vice Mayor Rommel Alameda, 49, and five of his companions died when they were ambushed Feb. 19 in Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya.
    She said her husband gained enemies when he filed charges against some local officials and their cohorts in the province.
    "I believe that politics has been the reason. I was shocked by what had happened but I have to accept it and call for swift justice," she said.
    Elizabeth, 45, said that her husband was "well-loved" by Aparri folks as shown by his track record as a former village head.
    He served as vice mayor for two terms and was being groomed to run for mayor in the next election.
    The victims included Alameda's cousin, driver John Duane Alameda, and aides Alexander de los Angeles, Abraham Ramos Jr., Ismael Nanay Sr., and Alvin Abel.
    The vice mayor was said to be a kind-hearted politician who "shells out his own money just to give back to his constituents."
    "His soft-heartedness is shown by the outpouring of sympathies now," his widow said.
    She called on those who had information on the killing that could help identify and arrest the perpetrators and even the mastermind to come out.
    Police in the Cagayan Valley region have created a special investigation task group to speed up the investigation on the killing of Alameda and five others when they were ambushed that Sunday morning, Feb. 19.
In a statement, Police Brig. Gen. Percival Rumbaoa, Cagayan Valley police chief, said cop units from the region, including those in Aparri and Nueva Vizcaya’s Bagabag town were tapped to form the task group.
    Alameda and his five aides, including a cousin, were on their way to Pasay City in Metro Manila to attend the 27th Vice Mayors’ League national convention and election of officers when waylaid in Barangay Baretbet at 8:45 a.m.
    Initial investigation showed that the armed men were clad in police uniforms and wore masks.
    Later reports however said the assailants were in army uniform based from statements of witnesses.
    Police said the assailants also used a white Mitsubishi Adventure with a red license plate number SFN 713, indicating that it was a government car.
    The killers reportedly barricaded the section of street in front of MV Duque Elementary School, and opened fire on Alameda’s black Hyundai Starex van when it arrived, causing the victims to die on the spot.
    Alameda’s slain companions were his cousin and driver, John Duane Alameda, 46; and his aides, Alexander delos Angeles, 47; Alvin Abel, 48; Abraham Ramos Jr., 48; and Ismael Nanay, all residents of Aparri.
Rumbaoa denied the culprits were policemen, and vowed to arrest the armed group responsible for the slaying.
“    The police force will not stop until those behind this heinous crime are captured,” Rumbaoa said.
In an earlier interview, Maj. Oscar Abrogena, Bagabag police chief, said the alleged getaway vehicle of the killers was found that Sunday afternoon abandoned and burned at Barangay Uddiawan in Solano, some 19 km from the crime scene.
    The burning of the getaway vehicle could be an attempt by the killers to discard evidence that would be linked to them, Abrogena said.
    He said they had coordinated with the Land Transportation Office to trace the owner of the car based on its chassis and engine numbers.
    “We would trace the registered owner, and in case it was sold, we would look for the last buyer. This will help in the investigation,” Abrogena said.
    The initial red plate was traced to a pickup car owned by a school in Nueva Vizcaya, which indicated that it could be fake.
    Abrogena also asserted that the killers were “not real policemen” and that the supposed police uniforms they wore were only used as a disguise.
    The Cagayan chapter of the Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines had condemned the killings.
In a separate interview, Tuguegarao City Vice Mayor Bienvenido de Guzman, the league’s chapter president, described the ambush as “dastardly acts” of the killers.
    He asked witnesses to come out and help authorities in the investigation.
    De Guzman described Alameda as “a person with passion and commitment to serving his constituents.”
    Alameda is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, who is a former Aparri councilor, and their two children.
    In 2010, Alameda was first elected as vice mayor for two consecutive terms until 2016. In 2016, he ran for mayor but lost. He was again elected vice mayor in 2019.
    Alameda was reelected in the May 2022 elections and would have served until 2025.