Aurora mayor tagged in newsman’s slay barred from leaving the country

Dingalan, Aurora Mayor Jaime Ylarde was barred from leaving the country yesterday by Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) due to his alleged involvement in the killing of a journalist in his town.

Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr. said Ylarde was offloaded from a Philippine Airlines flight to Hong Kong at around 7:45 a.m. after airport authorities found that he has been placed in the bureau’s watchlist last Monday.

Ylarde was scheduled to attend a conference abroad with other local officials from Aurora province. He was instead advised to first secure a travel clearance from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Fernandez revealed it was Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez who ordered the inclusion of Ylarde in the watchlist.

Ylarde was tagged by a panel of DOJ prosecutors as the alleged mastermind in last year’s killing of Philip Agustin, publisher and editor of Starline Times Recorder.

Under the country’s immigration rules, anyone facing criminal charges in the country is not allowed to leave until the case is resolved in court.

Agustin was shot dead after he exposed supposed anomalies in the local government of Dingalan under Ylarde’s administration.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said the testimony of a witness who claimed to have served as a lookout for the gunmen is a solid evidence that proves the mayor’s involvement in Agustin’s murder.

Ylarde has repeatedly denied the accusations and said the justice system would eventually clear his name.