La Union town declared poll hotspot due to slays

CAMP DIEGO SILANG, La Union , Philippines  – Police yesterday declared Tubao town in La Union an “area of immediate concern” or an election hotspot following the series of violent incidents after the filing of certificates of candidacy last Oct. 5. 

Senior Superintendent Ramon Purugganan, La Union police director, told The STAR that they declared Tubao a poll hotspot after Rodolfo Estoque, 56, a councilman of Barangay Leones West, Tubao town, was gunned down by motorcycle-riding men at around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Macalva Sur, Agoo town.

“We already declared in our report that Tubao is a hotspot because of its past election history and the recent killings which we believe are connected with politics. Based on our investigation, some of the victims are allied with politicians,” Purugganan said. 

Investigation showed that Estoque was driving his car at the boundary of Agoo and Tubao when his assailants got near him and shot him several times with a .45-caliber pistol, killing him on the spot.

The gunmen fled immediately toward the east onboard a Kawasaki motorcycle. 

Purugganan said Estoque’s killing is politically motivated. 

Last Sept. 16, Tubao Mayor Dante Garcia survived an ambush after several armed men onboard a Toyota Innova peppered his Toyota Fortuner with bullets while on his way home along the Aspiras Highway in Barangay Lloren. 

Garcia, now on his third and last term, is seeking the vice mayoral post this time with a relative as his mayoral running mate. He is pitted against his brother, incumbent Vice Mayor Wilfredo Garcia.

Police said the bodies of at least three victims of “salvaging” (summary execution), all males and believed to be political supporters, were found recently in separate places in Tubao. 

Purugganan and other police officials in La Union have agreed to enforce tighter security and increase police visibility in Tubao.

“We (deployed) additional forces in Tubao to address the worsening situation in the area. We think that there are other planned killings until the elections,” Purugganan said. – With Artemio Dumlao, Raymund Catindig