The widow of former La Union Rep. Eufranio Eriguel has described the May 12 murder of her late husband as “politically motivated” and asked the National Police to investigate the pullout of security detail from the Eriguel family days before the incident.
“Truly, violence has no place in any civilized society. The peace loving people of La Union denounces violence and we condemn, to the highest degree, the senseless, brutal and cowardly murder of Congressman Franny and his three companions,” La Union Rep. Sandra Eriguel, the widow of the late legislator and mayor, said in a privilege speech on Monday.
At the same time, Rep. Sandra Eriguel cried for justice over the death of her husband.
“…We will not rest until we find your murderers. We will not stop until all the perpetrators including the mastermind of this heinous act be apprehended and suffer the wrath of our justice system. We cry for justice. We want justice for those who were injured, for those who died and for Congressman Franny Eriguel,” she said
Eriguel and three of his companions died, while eight other people were wounded after a group of nine men armed with automatic weapons attacked the former lawmaker, mayor and doctor while he was delivering a speech in Barangay Capas, Agoo, La Union on the night of May 12.
An autopsy report showed that the late legislator sustained eight gunshot wounds on his head, chest, arm and leg. Based on police statements, high-caliber bullets were used during the carnage from M16 and M14 rifles.
“I lost my partner, the love of my life, my soulmate, the father of my children. They killed Franny,” said Rep. Sandra Eriguel.
“Sowing fear upon the people through intimidation and violence should never be the basis for voting our leaders, but rather, to vote freely and based on personal preference should be the basis for voting our leaders,” she said. “Congressman Franny’s murder is politically motivated. There is no other angle but politics.”
Rep. Sandra Eriguel said days before the ambush, their police security detail were pulled out one by one.
The Eriguel family received police security after Franny Eriguel survived a failed attempt on his life on April 30, 2016. An improvised explosive device planted on a motorcycle exploded as his convoy passed by along a road in Agoo, La Union, a few meters from the family residence, resulting in the death of a supporter.
The bombing incident remains unsolved to this day, with the police still to identify any suspect.
Rep. Sandra Eriguel said they asked Senior Superintendent Genaro Sapiera, then the provincial director of La Union PNP not to pull out all the security detail amid the active threats on their lives. Stefanie Eriguel, the Eriguel couple’s daughter, is also the incumbent mayor of Agoo.
“Congressman Franny personally pleaded to him. But PD Sapiera insisted that he has orders coming from Police Chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula, the regional director of PNP-Regional Office 1 to pull out all police security detail,” she said.
The Barangay Captain of Capas also wrote a letter dated May 7, 2018 to Police Chief Inspector Alfredo Padilla Jr., then the Agoo police chief, requesting for security assistance.
“But the said request was not acted upon by PCI Padilla,” Eriguel said. “Without our police security detail, each one of us became vulnerable to any attack. But Congressman Franny never wavered in any fight. He would rather take it head on and show to his opponents that they cannot take him down.”
“I firmly believe that if it were not for the orders of RD Sapitula to pull out our police security detail and the ineptness of former Agoo COP Padilla for failing to act on the letter of Barangay Capas for security assistance, the shooting incident may have been prevented and my husband could have been alive today. As legislators, we must look into the actions of the PNP days before the brutal and cowardly murder of my husband. We can prevent this type of murder [from] being committed again,” she said.
“We also owe it to the people, most especially to the peace loving people of La Union, to pass relevant laws that can stop this culture of violence. We must not let fear envelope our people and our nation. This must end here,” Eriguel said.
Eriguel vowed not to be intimidated by the latest attack on the family.
“Congressman Franny has already done more than unite our leaders, he has long created a legacy that is already written in history. Together with our leaders, we will continue his legacy. Congressman Franny will always be the cohesion that will bind us together towards a peaceful and progressive Second District of La Union,” she said.
“I now hold the reins of leadership of the Second District of La Union. Like Gabriela Silang, the valiant Ilocana heroine who continued the fight his husband Diego Silang began, I will continue what Congressman Franny had begun. I will continue to fulfill his dream of peace and violence-free La Union. I will continue to push for progress and development in our beloved district. I will continue to protect our people from any forms of atrocities,” she said.
Eriguel also called on the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to fast track the investigation and unmask the perpetrators including the mastermind of her husband’s murder.
“As long as they remain unidentified, my life and the life of my children will always be at risk,” she said.
“They might have killed Congressman Franny but not his ideals, and not the type of leadership he had instilled in our leaders. He will always be in our hearts. We will all overcome this tragedy and we will all emerge stronger and united than ever,” she said.
