Before charges over massage parlor controversy :‘Narco’ mayor slain

Cebu, Philippines —Clarin, Misamis Occidental Mayor David Navarro who was tagged by President Rodrigo Duterte as a narco politician was killed by armed men in masks yesterday afternoon just a few meters away from the prosecutor’s office in Cebu City where he was supposed to undergo inquest proceedings for allegedly mauling a massage parlor attendant and harassing a female therapist.

One of Navarro’s police escorts, Master Sergeant Carlo Balasoto, said their vehicle was about to enter the compound where the prosecutor’s office is located on M. Velez Street when a van blocked their way.

Suddenly, an estimated 10 armed men went down the van and approached the police patrol car, ordered everyone there to drop to the ground, and grabbed Navarro out of the vehicle before shooting the mayor several times at 2 p.m..

“Paspas kaayo ang sitwasyon kay pag-abot namo diha, paghunong na, naka-posting na sila… naka-van (Things happened very fast. When we arrived at the area, they were already there on board a van),” Balasoto told the reporters.

“Igo ra mi nilang gipahapa dayon gibira nila si mayor paggawas, dira na gibirahan (They only ordered us to drop to the ground, pulled the mayor out, and shot him),” Balasoto added.

He said some of the suspects were carrying short firearms while others had M16 rifles.

Another police escort, Corporal Eutemeo Catalan, was also shot in the foot while three of Navarro’s personal aides also reportedly sustained injuries.

Navarro rode the police patrol car with four police escorts, Clarin Police Station chief Jun Matugas and his sisters Novie Grace Navarro and Princess Carmel Navarro. They were travelling behind another police vehicle ridden by Abellana Police Station chief Eduard Sanchez. A third vehicle with Navarro’s aides tailed the convoy.

Sanchez said they were spared from the ambush because the vehicle he was riding had already reached the prosecutor’s office.

“Nanawag nalang nako ang driver (of the patrol car boarded by the mayor) nga gi-ambush sila… mao to namalik mi… katong mga suspek, nanagan na (The driver of the vehicle the mayor was in called to inform me that they were ambushed so we rushed back but the suspects had already fled),” Sanchez said.

Navarro’s sister, Princess, said she was scared when it happened because of the number of armed men.

“Nahadlok ko, nahadlok ko kay daghan ug armado… naa bay hustisya (I was very afraid because there were many armed men… is there justice)?” she told the press, still trembling.

Sanchez said they will check if Navarro received death threats prior to the shooting.

 CONTROVERSY

Authorities arrested Navarro, 50, last Thursday at the Mactan Cebu International Airport 30 minutes before he was about to fly out of Cebu. They were set to file charges against him yesterday for acts of lasciviousness, physical injuries, and usurpation of authority for pretending to be a policeman.

Navarro allegedly introduced himself as a cop when he went to the Banyan Tree Spa at a hotel in midtown Cebu City where he punched spa worker John Dueñas in the stomach when the latter allegedly failed to grant his request for a female therapist. When he eventually got one, Navarro allegedly solicited sexual favor from her.

Dueñas had said Navarro and his companions arrived at the massage parlor under the influence of alcohol and talked to the cashier and owner using foul words.

At the police station following his arrest, Navarro said it was Dueñas who allegedly insulted him first.

“Gibastos ko niya una. Nahagit ko maong ako siyang gibaklid (He insulted me first. I was provoked so I pushed him aside),” Navarro had said.

The closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage that captured the incident also showed three other men with Navarro at the massage parlor.

Sanchez said they are yet to verify whether or not the three other men who were with Navarro at the massage parlor are politicians back in Misamis.

Duterte tagged Navarro as a narco politician twice, in 2016 and 2019. JMO ( FREEMAN)