Re-elected mayor arrested for illegal ammo, estafa

TACLOBAN City — The re-elected mayor of Sta. Fe, Leyte was arrested yesterday just as he was about to board a plane for Manila.

Mayor Gaudioso Fajardo was arrested by agents of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) armed with two warrants the Pasig City Regional Trial Court in Metro Manila. The warrants — for illegal possession of ammunition and estafa — were issued by Pasig City Judge Martin Villarama.

PO3 Marlon Lagunzad of the CIDG said the warrants have been pending before the May 14 elections, but they did not serve it immediately to avoid being accused of politicking. He lauded Fajardo for not resisting arrest.

Details of the case were not immediately available, but CIDG agents said Fajardo was accused of estafa by a certain Rosa Rebustillos of Marikina. They added that he was allegedly caught with an attache case containing caliber .45 bullets that had no legal papers.

Fajardo, a known ally of Tacloban Rep. Alfred Romualdez, had won his third term as mayor under the Nationalist People’s Coalition. He was reported to be missing last month, and there were speculations that he was evading arrest.

The STAR tried to reach Fajardo for comment but CIDG men said he explicitly requested not to be presented to the media.

Meanwhile, a municipal councilor who ran and won his third and last term in the last elections was shot to death by two unidentified men Friday night inside his residence in Barangay Patoc, Dagami, Leyte some 30 kilometers southwest of this city.

Orlando Cabidog was shot dead around 7:30 p.m. while he was relaxing in his bedroom, according to Superintendent Felipe Montejo, Leyte police director.