Noynoy volunteer shot dead in Pampanga

MEXICO, Pampanga , Philippines  – The district coordinator of the Noynoy Aquino for President Movement in this province’s third district was shot dead by a still unidentified suspect in Barangay San Pedro Kamuning in this town at about 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Central Luzon police director Chief Superintendent Leon Nilo de la Cruz identified the victim as Marciliano Dizon, 43, known as Bong to his colleagues in the NAPM.

Florencio “Butch” Abad, campaign manager of Liberal Party presidential bet Sen. Benig-no “Noynoy” Aquino III, told The Star Aquino’s camp “is trying to get the full picture of the circumstances of the killing.”

A bulletin sent via text message by the NAPM said that “seconds before he was shot, Dizon was with NAPM chief operations of-ficer for Pampanga Sandy Quiwa Bansil.”

In a telephone interview, Bansil said she believed that Dizon’s killing was related to his work as NAPM coordinator for Pampanga third district covering the City of San Fernando, Bacolor, Sta. Ana, Arayat and this town.

“He was my best leader in recruiting and organizing local candidates for the Liberal Party in Pampanga. He was living a peaceful life after he arrived from London in 2008 until he volunteered for the NAPM and started getting death threats on the phone,” she noted.

Bansil said she and Dizon who was driving her car arrived at the residence of their friend Dominador Katanggal to attend a wake of the latter’s relative at the family compound in San Pedro Kamuning.

She said witnesses later told her the two suspects, who were wearing motorcycle helmets, were already in front of the compound when she and Dizon arrived.

At about 5:20 p.m., one of the suspects, still wearing his motorcycle helmet with its one-way front mirror pulled down, approached and shot Dizon with a pistol in the compound.

“The suspect had already shot him and was walking away when he suddenly went back to make sure Dizon was already dead,” she said.  

De la Cruz, however, debunked politics as motive for the killing. “Historically, political killings during election time arise from competition among local candidates, not national candidates,” he said.

He also noted “intelligence reports” that Dizon used to be a member of the Rebolusyunaryong Hukbo ng Bayan, the armed group of a group which broke away from the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

“The intelligence report on him revealed that he was breaking away from the RHB so my theory is that the rebel group hit him for this,” De la Cruz added.

But Bansil insisted that Dizon’s killing could not have been related to his past involvement with the RHB.

“What I know is that he had freed himself from the RHB years ago. He and his wife and two children had been staying in London as immigrants for years and when he came back in 2008, he had lived a peaceful life,” she said. She said Dizon’s wife and children are in London where they are all immigrants.

Bansil related that “Things seemed to have heated up when he tried to convince some people to run for mayor of Mexico under the Liberal Party. Also when news spread that he himself would run. I think he antagonized some people identified with the incumbents.”

She said Dizon had revealed to her death threats he received from identified callers on the phone, asking him to refrain from recruiting candidates for the Liberal Party in time for the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy last Dec. 1.

Bansil said that while she now also fears for her safety, she will still continue with her work with the NAPM.