Gunmen try to burn house of Bersamin foe’s brother-in-law

BANGUED, Abra - Unidentified men sprayed with bullets and tried to burn the house of a town mayor and brother-in-law of Gov. Vicente Valera at past midnight yesterday.

No one was hurt in the attack, which occurred on the Abra-Kalinga Road in Dolores. Dolores Mayor Albert Guzman and his family were not in the house during the attack. It was not determined how many gunmen were involved. Guzman’s wife Socorro is a younger sister of Valera.

Chief Superintendent Raul Gonzales, police director of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), said there were people inside the house during the attack but they were able to flee.

Local police chief Senior Inspector Charless Domallig told newsmen the attackers were already gone when the police arrived at the scene, which was near a police station. Recovered from the scene were empty M14 and M16 shells.

The attack came a few days after unidentified gunmen shot and killed Rep. Luis Bersamin and his security aide outside Mt. Carmel Church in Quezon City. Police, however, could not establish yet a connection between Bersamin’s murder and the attack on Mayor Guzman’s house.

Abra, one of the 20 poorest provinces in the country, is no stranger to political violence. Last month, Sangguniang Panlalawigan member James Bersamin, a relative of the slain congressman, was gunned down by an alleged hired killer while jogging with friends.

Among the unsolved murders in Abra are the assassination of mayors Clarence Benwaren of Tineg town and Jose Segundo of Tubo.