Samar town ex-mayor survives slay attempt

PALO, LEYTE, Philippines — A single bullet of an M-16 armalite rifle hit the left leg of former mayor Antonieto Cabueños of Gandara town in Samar, as he survived an attempt to kill him in an ambush at Barangay Buenavista in San Jorge, Samar Tuesday evening.

Inspector Niño Cabanas, San Jorge Police chief, said Cabueños was driving his car on his way home to Gandara when unidentified men, positioned at a dark area along the national highway fired at the vehicle. Cabueños' two bodyguards were unhurt.

Cabueños, a former 3-term mayor of Gandara and municipal chairman of the Liberal Party, was rushed to a private hospital in Samar, where he underwent an operation and later declared out of danger by his attending physicians.

The victim, in an interview with The Freeman, said he was grateful for surviving the ambush, but revealed there was only one man who could do that to him. He, however, requested not to divulge the identity of the person behind the slay try, saying this man sent him threatening text messages, months ago.

"All the text messages are with me. He has grudges against me. Police investigators must know about this angle," Cabueños said. The San Jorge Police Station is now conducting investigation into the incident.

Samar first district Representative Mel Senen Sarmiento, secretary general of the LP, condemned the slay try on Cabueños and had appealed to Chief Superintendent Asher Dolina, Police Regional Office-8 director, for police detail to secure the hospital where the former mayor is now confined, and to immediately solve the case.

Dolina, for his part, said the police surmised the ambush had political motives considering that Cabueños already announced his plan to run again for mayor in the 2016 elections.

The PRO-8 top official further said it may be possible to recommend for the declaration of Samar as an immediate area of concern in the coming polls.

Dolina vowed for a thorough investigation into the incident, and appealed to witnesses to cooperate with the police for the identification of the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

The ambush took place after Dolina declared that the killings in Calbayog City and the entire 1st district in Samar were perpetrated allegedly by private armed groups, prompting him to deploy more policemen into the province.

Early last week, Hindang (Leyte) town Councilor Soriano Dilalamon also survived an ambush along the national highway in that town while driving his vehicle on his way home after attending the regular session. Dilalamon had also announced his plan to run for mayor of the town during the 2016 elections.  (FREEMAN)