Dingalan mayor faces NBI, denies raps

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — Dingalan, Aurora Mayor Jaime Ylarde presented himself to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday following accusations that he ordered the murder of community journalist Philip Agustin.

Ylarde first visited the NBI office in Nueva Ecija to clear his name of allegations he had masterminded the killing of Agustin, his lawyers said.

This came a day after the Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered Ylarde and two other men tagged in the murder to appear before investigators to shed light on the case.

Accompanied by his wife Buena and lawyer Joel Descallar, Ylarde then proceeded to the office of NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco in Manila to disprove claims he had gone into hiding.

Ylarde hinted that Agustin might have been killed by the people the journalist had allegedly duped in a land deal.

"There are already text messages circulating in our town that I have been arrested by the NBI and that I have been handcuffed. It is good to show that I am at the NBI, but I am not arrested and I am in good condition," Ylarde told reporters.

He said he has no plans of escaping to another country. "Di ba, they are always saying flight means guilt?" he said.

Ylarde promised to appear before a preliminary investigation of the DOJ on May 27.

He said his work as the town’s chief executive and his family had been affected by reports linking him to the killing.

"My family and my constituents have been crying. My children have been calling me up. I told them, don’t worry... I am still here. Still have faith in the law and let us just pray," Ylarde said.

Buena, for her part, said their three children are supporting their father. "We believe in him. He is incapable of doing that (crime of murder), just ask our constituents," she told reporters.

Ylarde told reporters to "dig" into Agustin’s background. He hinted that some residents were very angry with the slain journalist after getting swindled in a land deal.

Police investigators have noted the allegations aired by Agustin’s family in articles published in his local newspaper might have led to the killing.

Agustin’s paper had published a report calling on Ylarde to come clean over alleged missing government funds.

Ylarde denied the report but admitted he was mad at Agustin for publishing the derogatory stories.

At the time of his death, Agustin had just arrived from Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija with about 500 copies of his newspaper containing stories on the alleged misuse of funds intended for the resettlement and rehabilitation of landslide victims.

The DOJ wanted Ylarde to submit himself to questioning over allegations made by one of the suspects, Reynaldo Morete, quoting his cousin Boyet Morete as saying the Dingalan mayor had ordered the hit.

Morete, who is now in the custody of the NBI, claimed his cousin is a well-known hired killer in their hometown of Dingalan.

Agustin, publisher and editor of the Starline Times Recorder, was shot at his residence in Barangay Paltic in Dingalan, Aurora by three men last week.

Morete later claimed it was his cousin, Boyet, who shot Agustin through a window. He also tagged his companion Emmanuel Alday in the murder. Both Boyet and Alday are still at large.

Aurora police director Senior Superintendent Amado Pabustan said Ylarde came on his own initiative to clarify certain reports implicating him in the murder.

"He (Ylarde) was not arrested nor detained. The mayor volunteered himself to the investigators," Pabustan said.

He said the investigating team, Task Force Agustin, which is headed by Senior Superintendent Perfecto Palad, would determine if Ylarde had a hand in the killing of the newsman.

Palad, for his part, said he persuaded Ylarde to present himself to the investigating body to clarify the allegations.

He admitted Morete’s statement could not be used against Ylarde since there was no direct testimony implicating the former Dingalan police chief as the mastermind.

Last Sunday, Aries Domingo, an alleged aide of Boyet Morete was arrested by combined police and NBI operatives in Mayantoc, Tarlac.

Despite the arrest, there was no evidence gathered linking Ylarde to the killing.

Central Luzon police director Chief Superintendent Alejandro Lapinid said Task Force Agustin operatives are still in Tarlac searching for Boyet and Alday.

Lapinid said the two suspects are reportedly hiding in a remote area in Barangay Kuyudan of the town.

Lapinid had offered a P100,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of Boyet and Alday.

Morete claimed they were under Ylarde’s "payroll" as construction workers for local government projects.

Ylarde, on the other hand, denied the trio had been in his employ. But he admitted knowing them since they are also residents of the town.

"In our town, we have a project that involves cleaning the highways, but they are not under the payroll of the Dingalan municipality," he said.

Ylarde added the Department of Public Works and Highways might have employed the suspects as construction workers.

Even as he served as the former police chief of Dingalan, Ylarde claimed he was unaware of criminal records on any of the suspects.

Police had pointed out that Boyet was on the town’s wanted list of most notorious criminals.

Boyet Morete is also wanted for the killing of an Army trooper on March 12, 2003 and for the murder of a policeman in Casiguran, Quezon in 1993.

Boyet had also violated the Commission on Elections gun ban on June 11, 2002, police said.