By Marilyn E. Galang
PEÑARANDA, Nueva Ecija, Aug. 9 (PNA) –Mayor Ferdinand Abesamis of this town has sought the immediate resolution on the recent twin cases of attacks against two of Sangguniang Bayan members.
Senior Supt. Manuel Corel, officer-in-charge of the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office, confirmed Sunday that Abesamis wrote his office a letter seeking for the full-dressed investigation of separate attempts on the lives of councilors Armando Abiog and Wilfredo Abesamis.
“The investigation on this matter is going on,”Cornel said.
Besides the police, Abesamis also sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The victims were allied with Abesamis political rival.
“I requested both the police and the NBI to conduct a thorough investigation on these incidents to ferret out the truth,” he said.
Abesamis, president of the 27-member Nueva Ecija chapter of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), was reacting to accusations he may have a hand in the recent slay attempt on the two councilors who are allies of Vice Mayor Fermin Francisco.
Abesamis said that although the two councilors have sided with Francisco, they consider each other as friends and there is no animosity among them to warrant such senseless attacks.
“I have no quarrel with them and they have no quarrel with me,” he said.
“Here in Peñaranda, we may have political rivalries but we are all peace-loving people and we abhor violence, be it political or personal,” he said.
He said ordinary residents enjoy the relatively stable peace and order climate and they travel everywhere without fear of getting harmed.
“In fact, me and my wife travel aboard our motorbike without any bodyguard in tow. They know us to be peace-loving, law-abiding citizens of our town,” he said.
The mayor, who was abroad when the attacks against the two councilors were carried out, said that when he returned from an official trip, he immediately called on law enforcement authorities to investigate the incidents.
“I myself was very interested in seeking justice,” he said.
“Insofar as Peñaranda is concerned, our town is very peaceful even during election time and these supposed outbreaks of violence are isolated incidents. Even those involved know exactly what are the motives for these attacks,” he said.
He said it is easy to blame politics for the attacks because the elections are fast approaching.
“It’s very convenient to point an accusing finger on anyone. But people can vouch for me that in my long history of public service, I have never done harm to anyone physically or emotionally,” he added.
Abesamis said he was hurt when Francisco, who was his running mate in the two terms that he was mayor, turned against him and decided to run for mayor in 2016.
“It hurt all the more because I treated him (Francisco) like he was my son and I was planning to tap him as my successor once I complete my three terms. But that’s life in politics so I have come to accept it,” he said. (PNA)