Concerned residents of La Union have expressed alarm over the unresolved high-profile political killings in the province and the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of the crimes.
This followed the assassination of Balaoan Vice Mayor Alfred Concepcion on Nov. 14; Sudipen Mayor Alexander Buquing on Oct. 1; and former Second District Rep. Franny Eriguel on May 12.
The residents called on the national government to look into the peace and order situation in La Union.
Eriguel, who was also a former medical doctor and mayor, was gunned down by unidentified armed men during a miting de avance in Barangay Capas, Agoo.
Buquing received multiple gunshot wounds on different parts of his body in Bangar town on his way home to Sudipen.
The latest victim of political violence in the province was Concepcion and his security escort who were killed in Barangay Cabuaan. Concepcion’s daughter, Balaoan Mayor Aleli Concepcion, was also wounded by gunmen but survived the gruesome incident.
No less than Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief, asked the police to focus on the political situation in La Union following the series of assassinations.
“Killings happened consecutively in La Union. The PNP should exert extra effort and focus on the situation in La Union. A pattern seems to be emerging,” Lacson said in a Senate forum.
Lacson said the killings could indicate that some politicians were hiring armed groups as the 2019 elections draw near.
“Once the election or the campaign period started and a candidate is killed, you won’t immediately think of any other motive beyond politics,” he said.
Residents of La Union welcomed Interior Secretary Eduardo Año’s plan to declare La Union as an election hotspot to prevent the further spread of violence.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra also agreed to look into the killings in the province, saying “the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) is keeping a tight watch of what’s happening on the ground.”
