Politics behind Cagayan mayor’s death, says family

MANILA, Philippines - Mayor Carlito Pentecostes Jr. of Gonzaga, Cagayan was killed because of politics, and the New People’s Army (NPA) had nothing to do with it, according to his family.

Family spokesman Edward Pentecostes said he doesn’t believe that the NPA killed his brother.

“The way we see it, his killing was related to politics,” he said.

Amelia, Pentecostes’ 75-year-old stepmother, told a radio interview she believes the military orchestrated the assassination.

Edward, a retired US serviceman and the eldest of the Pentecostes brood, said the NPA normally sends out “feelers” or warnings to their targets.

His brother had not been receiving threats from the NPA, he added.

Edward debunked claims that the NPA killed his brother, who was reportedly 60, because of mining.

“It if it’s about mining, they should have him killed during his first term,” he said.

“Those behind this condemnable act are just riding on the issue of mining. Besides mining activities in Gonzaga have been stopped.”

Authorities said the killers of Pentecostes were NPA rebels. 

Cagayan Valley police director Chief Superintendent Miguel Laurel said police are also looking into politics and personal grudge as possible motives for the killing.

Cagayan police to be probed

Laurel has ordered an administrative investigation of the Cagayan police intelligence branch to determine lapses that led to the assault in Gonzaga and the killing of Pentecostes.

Laurel has designated Senior Superintendent Franklyn Moises Mabanag, regional chief directorial staff, to head the investigating task force.

Almost a year ago, NPA rebels ambushed and killed eight Special Action Force (SAF) policemen in Allacapan, Cagayan.

Police and troops are scouring the Sierra Madre Mountain to hunt down the killers of Pentecostes.

The police car that the killers used as a getaway vehicle was found abandoned in Barangay Iska in Allacapan.

Laurel said police are investigating all angles behind the killing of Pentecostes, including his past tussles.

Last year, Pentecostes charged an anti-mining leader for a post in Facebook. In 1998, a court convicted Pentecostes of serious physical injuries for shooting a drunken man.

A son of the mayor was arrested for possession of 27 grams of shabu in Tuguegarao City.

Another was charged with attempted murder by a municipal councilor in June last year.

However, Laurel said all evidences at hand point to the NPA as the killers of Pentecostes.

Handbills that the armed men had distributed attributed to the NPA Henry Abraham Command the attack on wanton Chinese black sand quarrying in Gonzaga, he added.