Cayetano blames Tiñga for city hall clash

MANILA, Philippines - Taguig mayoral candidate Rica Tiñga should be blamed for last Saturday’s bloody clash at the city hall, in which 12 of her supporters were hurt, re-electionist Mayor Lani Cayetano said yesterday.

In a statement, Cayetano said Tiñga was “foolishly reckless” and “grossly irresponsible” for rallying her supporters to storm the city hall.

“I am calling on Rica Tiñga to prioritize the safety of her supporters over her own interest,” she said.

Cayetano said Tiñga’s camp should stop inciting violence to justify a “political hotspot” tag on the city that would pave the way for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to take control.

Taguig City police chief Senior Superintendent Arthur Asis said there is no need to put the city under Comelec control. “The political situation in Taguig City can still be considered as peaceful as a whole,” he said.

Asis noted that before a certain area can be declared an election hotspot, certain conditions must be met, such as the presence of threat groups such as communist guerrillas, the proliferation of armed groups and widespread election-related violent incidents.

“All these are not present in Taguig City,” he said.

The Comelec said Monday that is considering putting Taguig in the list of “areas of immediate concern” following the clash.

Conflicting statements

Lyle Pasco, Nacionalista Party-Taguig’s legal counsel, said Tiñga actually gave conflicting statements to the media on the city hall incident.

Pasco said Tiñga earlier denied entering the city hall compound and claimed that she and her supporters were only conducting a house-to-house campaign near city hall when unidentified men attacked them without provocation.

“But when a video surfaced showing Tiñga and her supporters running towards city hall, she changed her story and admitted she entered the premises to try and shake hands with security personnel,” Pasco said.

“Her lies blew up in her face. The whole incident was planned and staged accordingly in order to provoke violence and falsely present Taguig as a possible election hotspot.  But now Rica has nothing but blood on her hands, and they are of her supporters,” he added.