Army man links Abra gov, officer to ambush

An Army corporal has filed frustrated murder charges with the Office of the Ombudsman against Abra Gov. Vicente Valera and his former commanding officer in the northern province for allegedly masterminding an ambush that nearly killed him in Isabela late last year.

In an 11-page complaint, Cpl. Eduardo Barcelona named Valera, Lt. Col. Noel Mislang, who was relieved as commander of the Army’s 41st Infantry Battalion based in Abra, as well as Mauro Dorwin and Florencio Baharin, both civilian agents of the Military Intelligence Group (MIG), as respondents.

Barcelona filed his complaint-affidavit with the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon.

A former intelligence officer of the 41st IB, Barcelona claimed that Dorwin and Baharin carried out the ambush allegedly upon the orders of Valera and Mislang.

He said the ambush was meant to silence him and his colleague, Cpl. Antonio Rosqueta, for their continued refusal to assassinate Lagayan, Abra Mayor Cecilia Luna and members of her family, as allegedly ordered by Mislang and Valera.

Barcelona survived the ambush despite six gunshot wounds, while Rosqueta died on the spot due to three bullet wounds in the head.

He said they were offered P300,000 for every member of the Luna clan they would kill.

Luna has similarly filed murder charges against Valera and Mislang in connection with the slay plot, based on Barcelona’s statements.

Valera, however, has denied having any hand in the alleged slay plot against the Lunas.

He claimed that his only association with military officers like Mislang was purely on a professional level.

Twenty-four of Abra’s 27 mayors — except Luna and Mayors Ysrael Bernos and Mailed Molina of La Paz and Bucloc towns, respectively — and all 11 provincial board members have signed a manifesto condemning the allegations against Valera.

They defended Valera as a God-fearing and peace-loving person who would never resort to such immoral and illegal acts to perpetuate himself in power. — With Artemio Dumlao