Abra governor ready to surface

Abra Gov. Vicente Valera is now the object of a manhunt of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after he was implicated in the murder of Rep. Luis Bersamin.

But Valera, in an e-mail message, denied involvement in the murder of Bersamin and that he was in hiding, saying he was ready to cooperate in the investigation.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring said they have to find Valera and take him into custody since the investigation into Bersamin’s murder has taken a new twist.

A former constable has tagged Valera as the mastermind, claiming the governor funded the P5-million contract for the lawmaker’s assassination.

Rufino Palope Panday, a retired sergeant of the defunct Philippine Constabulary, admitted participation in the killing as lookout and tagged two others as the hit men.

Panday claimed that a former local official acted as the go-between, revealing to him that Valera funded the hit contract.

Mantaring said the NBI’s National Capital Region (NCR) regional office has taken the responsibility of taking Valera into custody in its parallel investigation of the killing.

"Since the NCR has already been investigating the assassination of Abra congressman Bersamin, they would add locating Governor Valera to their workload. I told them that I expect them to find him as soon as possible," Mantaring said.

Mantaring said the NBI is coordinating with the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), being the lead agency in the investigation.

Valera maintained the allegations linking him to the assassination of Bersamin "were just hearsay."

"My conscience is clear. I am the victim of a vicious and coordinated frame-up, although I am at a loss as to who the perpetrators are of these cruel lies," Valera said in his message.

He denied going into hiding, claiming he merely made himself "inaccessible to newsmen," for a few days.

"I would like to stress that I am not in hiding, nor have I been captured fleeing from the airports, contrary to earlier reports... I am ready and willing to cooperate with the proper authorities to answer all these malicious accusations as well as to dispel all doubts regarding my integrity and character as an individual," Valera said.

The embattled governor, however, did not say when he would surface to answer the accusations against him.

A ranking police official, however, revealed Valera has already sent feelers to surface and answer the allegations against him.

The official said Valera is already in Manila to present himself before Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Calderon tomorrow.

Valera was not around when operatives of Task Force Abra raided his residence last Friday on suspicion of his keeping a cache of loose firearms.

Mantaring also believes Valera is still in the country. "Because so far, there has been no evidence that he has gone abroad so the presumption is, he is still in the country," he said.

Calderon added that they cannot pin down Valera since there is no direct evidence linking the governor to the murder.

He said the admission made by Panday merely linked the governor indirectly.

Come out clear

After Valera was implicated in the killing of Bersamin, the slain lawmaker’s family members urged the governor to come out of hiding and answer the allegations.

"I challenge Valera to come out and clear himself," the slain congressman’s eldest daughter Charrie Bersamin said.

Several other relatives pointed out the pending cases filed against Valera with the Ombudsman.

Valera is facing murder and two frustrated murder cases before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the killing of an Army corporal and the failed slay plot on Lagayan, Abra Mayor Cecilia Luna and her family three years ago.

These cases are now pending before the Ombudsman’s Preliminary Investigation and Administrative Adjudication Bureau.

The family of the late Cpl. Antonio Rosqueta filed the murder case against Valera following the ambush.

Rosqueta and Cpl. Eduardo Barcelona were former Army intelligence officers assigned in Abra.

They were reportedly ordered by their commander, Lt. Col. Noel Mislang, to kill Luna and her family. Mislang has been identified as a close ally of Valera in the province.

Valera allegedly bankrolled Luna’s failed slay plot with Mislang tasking Rosqueta and Barcelona to make the hit.

But the two soldiers disobeyed the orders and ended up being ambushed in Isabela. Rosqueta died on the spot, while Barcelona survived the attack even after sustaining six gunshot wounds.

Barcelona and Luna also filed separate frustrated murder cases against Valera before the Office of the Ombudsman, asking that he be suspended as governor if only to pave the way for a fair and just trial.

The suspension pleadings made by Barcelona and Luna were later denied by the Ombudsman.

A classified police report on the Abra situation as early as 2005 indicated that patronage politics have been ruling the province with majority of the local executives gravitating toward Valera, identified as the central figure in the province.

The report added that police and Army personnel assigned to the area have been serving as bodyguards, while the judiciary and the prosecution arm of the government "are widely perceived to be partial toward the governor (Valera)." - With Jaime Laude, Myds Supnad, Teddy Molina, Aurea Calica