Cagayan solon slain in ambush

TUGUEGARO CITY– Outgoing Cagayan Rep. Rodolfo Aguinaldo and his bodyguard were shot and killed by three armed men who were waiting in ambush outside the lawmaker’s home on Magallanes street here early last night, local police said.

Aguinaldo, who was hit in the head with a caliber .45 bullet, died before reaching the St. Paul Hospital, police said. His bodyguard SPO1 Joey Garro was shot four times and also did not reach the hospital alive.

Aguinaldo rose to prominence after leading the takeover of a hotel in the provincial capital in the early 1990s that resulted in the death of then Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Oscar Florendo.

SPO1 Romeo Maggay of the Tuguegarao police said the gunmen ambushed Aguinaldo just as he and his bodyguard were entering the gate of their apartment on Magallanes street at around 7:20 p.m.

Some sources said the shooting could have been politically motivated. They cited last month’s polls where Aguinaldo lost his bid for a second term as congressman in Cagayan’s third district.

The solon has already filed an election protest with the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal against rival Manuel Mamba, whom he accused of vote-buying and terrorism.

However, other sources in the House suspect that the New People’s Army (NPA) may have been involved.

They said that during the last special session of Congress, Aguinaldo delivered a scathing privilege speech against the NPA. He also reportedly declared that the NPA was "getting strong again," complaining that a lot of candidates had to pay big amounts to the rebel group in order to be able to campaign in their areas of operation.

Aguinaldo allegedly pointed to the strong showing of Bayan Muna in the party-list sector which won three seats in the incoming House. The Cagayan solon had charged that this was partly a result of the NPA coercing the people in the countryside to vote Bayan Muna the sources said.

Aguinaldo believed, they said, that congressmen will now be scared to tangle with the Bayan Muna solons in the House for fear of retaliation by the NPA in their home provinces.