PNP chief not ruling out Abra politics in lawmaker’s slay

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Calderon is not ruling out local politics as the motive behind the gunslaying of Abra Rep. Luis Bersamin and his security aide outside Mt. Carmel Church in Quezon City last Saturday.

"We are not discounting local politics (in Abra) as the motive behind the murder," Calderon said. "This case will not pass as a mere statistic. I have put up a task force that would identify and prosecute the perpetrators of this dastardly act."

The slain congressman’s brother, Court of Appeals Justice Lucas Bersamin, said he was sure politics was the motive behind the murder. "There is no other reason for his murder than politics," Justice Bersamin said, but he declined to identify the suspects.

Bersamin, 62, was killed along with his bodyguard SPO1 Adelfo Ortega, as he was about to board his vehicle at the courtyard of Mt. Carmel Church after attending the wedding of his niece. Bersamin’s driver Allan Sawadan and a young bystander Rolly Boy Abadia were wounded in the attacks.

Calderon announced the creation of Task Force Bersamin headed by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Director Jesus Versoza.

Investigators are looking into the long-standing feud between the Bersamins and the camp of Abra Gov. Vicente Valera over the political control of the province.

"Although there is yet no evidence to that effect, we find it prudent to take appropriate action to prevent any violent reaction from local political followers," Calderon said. Bersamin was reportedly eyeing the gubernatorial seat in next year’s election. But this was denied by Justice Bersamin. He said his brother was seeking reelection for his third and last term.

Metro police chief Director Reynaldo Varilla said the CIDG is also investigating other political cases in Abra. "They have their own unit in Abra which they could tap instead of our police investigators here going up there, which is very costly for us," Varilla said.

Bersamin was a lawyer and a businessman. He was a vice chairman of the House committees on dangerous drugs and on trade and industry.

Also yesterday, police released artist sketches of the three suspects in the murder of Bersamin and Ortega.

Based on witnesses’ accounts, the three suspects were more than 5’5" tall, slim and medium built, and between 38 and 40 years old.

Police said the red getaway motorcycle, found abandoned on Aurora Ave. near Balete Drive, was registered in the name of a certain Luis Saulog based on the certificate of registration found in the vehicle. It was learned that the motorcycle was bought on Dec. 12. No other details were given.

Police also recovered a barong and two helmets believed worn by the assassins. One of the helmets was traced to an unnamed Cembo, Makati resident. "We are still determining whether the helmet’s owner is a civilian, a military man, or a policemen," Varilla said. Many Cembo residents are in the armed forces.

For Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula, "physical evidence" will be the starting point of the investigation.

"There is no known motive yet for the killing, and we might muddle the investigation if we presume politics or personalities are involved," Gatdula told The STAR. "We’ll start from the basics."

He said the PNP Crime laboratory was analyzing fingerprints lifted from two helmets and a short-sleeved barong that were believed owned by the suspects. Police have yet to get a formal statement from Bersamin’s driver who was hospitalized for a gunshot wound in the leg.

Gatdula said Bersamin’s assassination had a striking resemblance to that of Tineg, Abra Mayor Clarence Benwaren who was gunned down inside a church in Laguna in October 2002. He said the QCPD had already asked for the files of the case to help in the Bersamin investigation. He said some assassins prefer to strike in places of worship where their victims are usually at ease or unsuspecting.

Calderon said the PNP is also checking if there is a link between the congressman’s assassination and that of a close relative Provincial Board Member James Bersamin in Bangued on Nov. 11.

The PNP chief also said that as a result of the spate of killings in Abra, he will recommend that the National Police Commission or Napolcom maintain its suspension of local government control over the police force. PNP Ilocos Regional Director Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil ordered the region’s police officials to check on possible threats against local political leaders.

At Malacañang, President Arroyo vowed to capture the killers of Bersamin, a political ally.

"This and all other acts of violence shall never be condoned," Arroyo said in a statement. "The Philippine National Police shall bring the perpetrators, mastermind and all, to justice."

"Such deplorable acts have no place in a democratic polity and I will ensure that the long arm of the law will catch up with those who committed this dastardly act," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo described Bersamin, a member of her party –Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi)–as "a sincere friend and ally for good governance and public service."

She said the Palace shares the concern of the public over "such brazen acts of lawlessness and we expect the authorities to redouble their efforts to prevent and solve these heinous crimes."

The anti-crime group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) also condemned Bersamin’s murder and renewed its call for the revival of the death penalty law.

The group said brutal crimes occur because the perpetrators are aware that they will never be executed if convicted.

"I personally visited the wake of the slain Congressman and Senior Police Officer 1 Adel Ortega in Funeraria Paz. The family of both victims are one in calling for the return of death penalty," VACC founding chairman Dante Jimenez told The STAR.

Bersamin’s assassination came days after Pasig City Rep. Robert "Dodot" Jaworski Jr. escaped death when the van he was riding on caught fire and exploded, in what was also suspected to be an assassination attempt. Jaworski said influential people are out to get him because of his campaign against illegal drugs in Pasig City.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said there is no pattern so far detected in the reported threats in the lives of administration lawmakers but the President is closely monitoring the cases that remain a police matter.

He also said authorities are bracing for possible increase in political violence as the May senatorial and local election nears.

"This kind of violence is particularly disturbing but so far the motives and the killings appear to be unrelated," Gonzales told AP, referring to the alleged slay try on Jaworski and House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles and the murder of Bersamin.

Gonzales refused to speculate on the possible motives behind Bersamin’s killing, adding the lawmaker started out in politics as a member of the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, an administration party the security chief heads.

Gonzales said political violence in the country is engendered by the proliferation of illegal and unlicensed firearms, the existence of private armies as well as the presence of various armed rebel and terror groups such as the Abu Sayyaf Group and the communist New People’s Army.

Violent polls seen

A party mate of Bersamin warned the government yesterday of a violent election next year unless authorities arrest Bersamin’s killers quickly.

"It is very important that Congressman Bersamin’s killers should be arrested immediately because his killing, if not solved within the next few days, will only encourage more assassinations," Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez said.

"The Bersamin murder should not be allowed to become the curtain raiser of a violent election season," he said.

Alvarez also belongs to Kampi, the political party Mrs. Arroyo founded in 1997 when she was still senator.

Another Palawan congressman, Abraham Mitra, said he hoped the assassination of Bersamin "will not be a prelude to how the (May 2007) elections will be conducted."

He said the police and the military should forgo their holiday break and thresh out ways to ensure peaceful and orderly elections next year. — With Katherine Adraneda, Paolo Romero, Non Alquitran, Jess Diaz, Eva Visperas, Mydes Supnad, Teddy Molina, AP, AFP