ILAGAN, Isabela – Political tension has started to heat up as some quarters here yesterday blamed politics as the culprit behind the killing of a town councilor in this province’s third congressional district, who was shot dead by still unidentified suspects on Thursday.
Vice Gov. Ramon Reyes, who condemned the killing incident, said that obviously politics could be the main reason behind the killing of Alicia town councilor Primo Dasig, whom he described as having “no known personal enemies” except those with political motives.
A known close political ally of both Reyes and Gov. Grace Padaca, Dasig, 59, was pronounced dead on arrival at the De Vera’s Hospital in Santiago City here due to sustained gun shot wounds inflicted on him by two still unidentified gunmen in front of a grocery store in Alicia public market around 6:30 p.m on Nov. 22.
According to provincial police director Senior Superintendent Dominador Aquino, the councilor was about to embark on his owner type jeep when the two bonnet-wearing armed men, also on board a motorcycle, approached him, and without any notice, shot him at least three times.
Aquino said responding policemen have recovered at least four empty shells of a .45 caliber pistol at the crime scene.
He said that they are considering all possible angles that drove the suspects to kill Dasig, also the auditor of the provincial chapter of the Philippine Councilors League and a nephew of veteran dzRH-Cagayan Valley news reporter Joe Dasig Jr.
Police are eyeing all clues, including politics, business and personal motives in their investigation as well as the possible brains behind the incident.
Additionally, Alicia town mayor Napoleon Dy appealed to the public to let the investigation process being conducted by authorities move on, instead of making unnecessary speculations on the killing of Dasig, which could be prejudicial to the ongoing probe.
Dy, who admitted that the slain councilor was not a political partymate, appealed to the public to refrain from making premature speculations, and just let the police do their job to unmask Dasig’s killers.
“I have asked the police chief in our town to conduct a thorough investigation on this matter and he and (provincial director) Aquino have vowed to get to the bottom of the matter,” Dy said.