Police mulls placing Pulupandan town under Comelec control
The Police Regional Office (PRO) VI is planning to recommend the municipality of Pulupandan in Negros Occidental to be placed under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
This, following the killing of a former mayor and mayoralty bet Luis Mondia Wednesday evening at Jaro, Iloilo City.
But before the recommendation will be made, PNP Regional Director Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas said that they are waiting for an “honest evaluation” on the true political climate in the area.
Last December 2009, PRO-6 identified 10 areas of Negros Occidental under election watchlist of areas of concern.
Of the said number, only the town of Pulupandan in Negros Occidental was considered as election hotspot under Category 1.
Since the province is known for the presence of rebels, the remaining EWAC are on Category 2 such as Candoni, Escalante, Sipalay, Himamaylan, Cadiz City, Silay City, Victorias City, Sagay City, and Moises Padilla.
An area is considered Category 1 if it has high possibility of election-related violent incidents (ERVI) while those at Category 2 area areas with history of ERVIs, intense political rivalries and active movement of armed rebels.
Meanwhile, police have already cartographic sketches of the two suspects behind Mondia’s killing.
Jaro Police Station chief Chief Insp. Orly Gabinete said that the two artist sketches were the result of the description given by the two eyewitnesses.
“Right after the incident, we already get descriptions from a witness. Based on the witness’ account, he saw the victim going out of the compound of Jaro Cathedral until the time that he was shot and slumped on the ground,” he added.
The said witness also saw as the trigger man and his look-out sped off on board a motorcycle.
“From that cartographic sketch, we would be able to go on a matching stage in identifying the victims,” he added.
Initially, Gabinete said that they already have the name to match the artist sketch given by the two witnesses.
“But we are still confirming if that person is the same. We need more statement to support our claims,” he said.
The Jaro PNP chief refused to elaborate further on the suspects’ identity but affirmed that they are indeed hired killers.
He is not also discounting the possibility that the suspects are still in the area.
“Our investigation is still going on. We are coordinating with our regional office special investigation task force headed by Senior Supt. Cornelio Defensor,” he added.
To note, Task Force Mondia was formed right after Mondia was gunned at around 6:00 p.m. of Wednesday, as he went out of the Jaro Cathedral M. Jalandoni St., Brgy. Seminario, Jaro.
Mondia, 55, was with his wife Evelinda and 7-year old granddaughter hearing an Ash Wednesday mass.
He was about to board his Mazda pick-up when a suspect shot him thrice.
Mondia was brought to Iloilo Mission Hospital but died at around 11:10 p.m.
Meanwhile, Evelinda believed that politics was behind her husband’s death.
He claimed that intense political environment was the reason why they opted to stay in Don Francisco Village in Jaro district after the 2007 elections.
Further, despite the allusion that he is considered as one of the suspects in the incident, Pulupandan Mayor Magdaleno Peña claimed that he has nothing to do with the incident.
“When I heard about what happened to him, I was hoping that he would recover. I’m quite sorry,” he added.
Peña claimed that Mondia is not a threat to his political career.
Instead, he pointed to other angles behind the killing.
“He has been out of the town in the last three years. Basi may na-kontra siya da sa Iloilo. Bal-an mo man ang mga taga-Iloilo, mga ma-isog...indi mo man ma-lango-lango. Basi negosyo ukon affairs of the heart. Basi may na-miga siya da nga may bana...indi lang ta kabalo (Maybe, he has made enemies there in Iloilo. You know residents of Iloilo, they are brave... they could not be messed around. It could be business or affairs of the heart. Maybe he has a girlfriend who has a husband. We could never tell),” he added.
He also claimed that Pulupandan is a peaceful area.
