Abra governor posts bail, says ‘third force’ out to kill him

Abra Gov. Vicente Valera, who has been freed on bail, said yesterday he is the target of a "third force," which he claimed was behind the political killings in the province.

He said the threat from the group is very serious and it might even carry out its plan as soon as he leaves detention at Camp Crame.

The Abra governor said the existence of the "third force" was confirmed by Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Calderon himself. He did not identify the people behind the socalled third force.

"The threat is serious, they’re taking us one by one," Valera told reporters after posting more than P300,000 bail at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court for his temporary release from detention on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

After weeks in hiding following the murder of Abra Rep. Luis Bersamin Jr., Valera and two bodyguards were held by policemen from the Traffic Management Group in Quezon City on Dec. 29 for using an unregistered vehicle and for unauthorized use of sirens. The policemen later found assorted firearms and a grenade in his vehicle.

The family of the slain congressman tagged Valera as the mastermind in the killings, an accusation the governor repeatedly denied. Rufino Panday, who claimed to be a lookout for Bersamin’s assailants, also accused Valera of masterminding the murder and that the governor offered them P5 million for the job.

Although freed on bail, Valera is not yet off the hook in the Bersamin murder, according to outgoing chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Director Jesus Verzosa.

"He is one of the suspects as what the arrested suspect (Rufino Panday) claimed: the governor was the source of fund to murder Bersamin. We are still building up cases against. We are collating more circumstantial evidence against him," said Verzosa, who has been named PNP’s Chief Directorial Staff, considered the No. 4 man in the PNP.

"The investigation on his detention was for illegal possession of firearms and we are looking into some probable connections of the firearms seized from him to that of the murder of Bersamin," Verzosa said.

Valera was accompanied by his wife Ching, mayor of Bangued, and lawyers Jose Grafilon and Pablito Gajol when he left detention. He reiterated that he had no reason to kill Bersamin, a close relative. He said some groups were "poisoning" the minds of the Bersamins in an effort to destroy his political career. He said he would also report to the Quezon City police to air his side on the allegations of Panday. "I never knew Panday," he said. He said he would confer with his lawyers as to which legal step to take against the arresting officers.

Valera stressed he was a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, which strongly supported the Arroyo administration particularly in its people’s initiative campaign.

He vowed to get back at the arresting policemen whom he accused of switching his firearms with homemade guns and for stealing his money and Rolex wrist watch. He said news photos will prove his allegations.

Bersamin and his security aide were gunned down on Dec. 16 as they were leaving Mt. Carmel Church in New Manila after attending the wedding of his niece.

Meanwhile, a Quezon City assistant prosecutor moved yesterday for the consolidation of the double murder and the frustrated murder cases against Panday saying the two cases have "similar information."

Jonathan Raymund Lledo, resident prosecutor of the Quezon City RTC Branch 88 requested Judge Rossana Maglaya of Branch 84 to handle the two cases.

"After a review it appears that both offenses were similar (based on) information filed against the accused for the frustrated murder pending before branch 84 of this honorable court," Lledo said in his motion. — With Myds Supnad, Cecille Suerte Felipe