Monkayo mayor slain inside cockpit

DAVAO CITY — A lone gunman assassinated the mayor of Monkayo, Compostela Valley last Saturday night during a cock derby at the Matina Cockpit here.

Police believe that the killing of Mayor Joel Brillantes is an offshoot of the ongoing mining row at Mt. Diwalwal.

Brillantes, 49, died from two bullet wounds in the head and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Davao Doctors Hospital where he was taken a few minutes after he was shot beside the main ring of the Matina Cockpit.

His alleged assassin, Aniceto Dejeto Sr., reportedly a barangay tanod in Barangay Tulian in Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte, was killed by one of the mayor’s bodyguards.

Meanwhile, the vehicle bringing Brillantes to the hospital smashed into a Kia Pride, killing its driver, a certain Tito Francisco, 61, said to be a member of the On Any Sunday Riders Association of Davao City.

According to witnesses interviewed by the police, Brillantes went out of an enclosed VIP room in the cockpit and approached the handler of the fowl he was betting on.

This gave Dejeto a chance to get near Brillantes and shoot him at close range.

Sen. Ramon Revilla Sr. and Chief Superintendent Eduardo Matillano, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, were reportedly inside the cockpit’s VIP room when the shooting occurred.

Reynaldo Espanola, one of Brillantes’ close aides, told The STAR that no group has so far claimed responsibility for the killing.

"We still do not have a suspect right now although we could surmise it is related to the mining activities. We are not sure yet," he said.

Espanola said Brillantes’ death would probably result in the slowdown of programs and projects that the mayor had initiated for the development of Monkayo, which is a mining town.

"It was such a great loss and we hope that the vice mayor who will succeed him (can continue) the different programs that Brillantes had started," he said.

Mt. Diwalwal barangay chairman Franco Tito expressed apprehension that he could be tagged as the mastermind in the mayor’s slaying.

Tito had been openly at loggerheads with Brillantes in several issues concerning gold mining at Mt. Diwalwal.

"Why would I be a hypocrite? Huwag na tayong mag-plastikan. Some people were telling me to send condolences to the Brillantes family. Why would I do that? I had been open in my opposition to him before and how come I cannot do it now?" he said.

Tito said he is willing to submit himself to authorities for questioning and investigation.

"I am willing to face anyone to prove I have nothing to do with what happened to him," he said.

Brillantes had been mired in controversy since he allied himself with Southeast Mining Multinational Corp., which has been in a long-drawn legal battle with small-scale miners at Mt. Diwalwal.

The mayor had figured in numerous debates with thousands of small-scale miners on how to further harness Mt. Diwalwal’s resources.

Brillantes, who became Monkayo mayor in 2001, was said to be a former Army soldier who reportedly built his fortune through mining in 1984.

He was able to establish a management firm, JB Management Corp., which was also involved in other business interests.