N. Ecija mayor survives slay try; bet’s brod, driver killed

STA. ROSA, Nueva Ecija — This town’s re-electionist mayor survived an assassination attempt yesterday morning, while an elder brother of the Lakas-CMD mayoral candidate in the Science City of Muñoz and his driver were murdered the previous day.

Superintendent Peter Guibong, the newly installed Sta. Rosa police chief, said Mayor Marlon Marcelo was coming out of his residential compound at the Holy Cross College here at about 7:45 a.m. on his way to attend a barangay fiesta celebration, when a man holding a grenade appeared at the gate.

Marcelo’s two bodyguards, PO1 Leonardo Santos and a certain PO2 Reyes, alighted from the mayor’s vehicle and were about to confront the man, identified as Rogelio Ramirez, when he ran away. Two other men, believed to be lookouts, also scampered away.

As the lawmen were about to catch him, Ramirez attempted to hurl the grenade but he was shot in the abdomen. The grenade eventually went off some four meters away from Ramirez, killing him instantly.

It was the third grenade attack in this town since January when the house of Marcelo’s father was bombed. Police tagged Marcelo’s rival, Antonio Romero, as the alleged mastermind.

Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol, Central Luzon police director, has ordered the local police to provide Marcelo with additional escorts and to increase police visibility in this town, which has been identified as an area of special concern.

Meanwhile, engineer Roval Laurena, 52, elder brother of Muñoz mayoral bet Domiciano Laurena Jr. and general manager of Choice Cable TV, and his driver, Ronald Diamante, were found dead hours after they were reported missing.

Laurena had a gunshot wound in the back of the ear with the bullet exiting through his left cheek, and Diamante in the temple.

The Laurenas are considered one of the most influential families in Muñoz.

Domiciano blamed the killing on politics. "It leads to that; this is clearly politically motivated," he told The STAR.

Domiciano is running against re-electionist Mayor Nestor Alvarez of the Bagong Lakas ng Nueva Ecija (Balane).

Superintendent Rufino Escote, Muñoz police chief, said Laurena and his driver failed to return home after visiting Laurena’s farm in Barangay Sto. Tomas, San Jose City last Wednesday morning.

The two were found dead, tied up with shoe laces near a creek in Barangay Mapangpang in Muñoz.

Police believe that they were waylaid when they passed across an irrigation canal.

Escote said his men are looking into several angles, including politics, an old grudge, land dispute and the involvement of the New People’s Army (NPA).

"There are reports that Laurena had a misunderstanding with some people in the farm who had mishandled its operations," he said.

Querol said it was still too early to blame politics for the killing. "We don’t have evidence yet. If you impute politics into it without basis, we might be delaying the progress of the investigation," he said.