The mayor of the city of Calbayog, Ronaldo Aquino, and two of his bodyguards, were killed on the spot; the Police assured that “it was a mistake”, but from the Vice Presidency of the country they brand it as “ambush”
The Philippine Police reported this Tuesday that the mayor of the city of Calbayog, Ronaldo Aquino, and two of his bodyguards have died in a confrontation with the agents that they have called it a “mistaken encounter”. According to information from the Rappler news portal, two other agents also died due to the shots when the mayor was going to his son’s birthday party.
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The case has prompted the opening of an investigation by the authorities, especially after one of his friends assured that Aquino was a “target” of the Police. “I can only assume that it was a mistake,” said Police Chief Ronaldo de Jesús.
The agents were patrolling the area when they were allegedly shot several times by the bodyguards of the mayor, who was heading to the province of Samar aboard a white van.
“They were suspicious and opened fire on our police officers and our forces retaliated,” de Jesús explained in statements collected by the Associated Press. Despite the accusations against the agents about an alleged intentional attack against the mayor, the Chief of Police has assured that it was an accident and that his officers were only on patrol.
The Secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Menardo Guevarra, has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) office to open an investigation into the death of the mayor and his two bodyguards. Likewise, the vice president of the Government of the Philippines, Leni Robredo, has spoken after the event through an official statement and has described it as an “ambush” against the mayor. “We are at a time when many seem to have become insensitive to violence and the culture of murder,” reads the letter.
VP Robredo on the ambush of Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino: It should not be treated as normal that mayors, community organizers, lawyers, judges, journalists, children, and even victims of the drug trade are outright murdered in our streets or in their homes. | @maracepeda pic.twitter.com/5zGM3HB0ko
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) March 9, 2021