INTENT TO KILL This is how Batanes Gov. Telesforo Castillejos describes his still unknown assailants during a bedside interview at Medical City in Pasig City. A day after his ambush in Pasay City, the governor of a province with a practically zero crime rate is already sitting up. His wife Susan stays close to him while he recuperates. RAFFY LERMA
‘It’s politics, plain and simple,’ says Batanes gov By Beverly T. Natividad, Julie M. Aurelio, Nikko Dizon Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 02:22:00 09/05/2008
MANILA, Philippines—He comes from a peace-loving province where crime is rare. But when the bullets struck him, Batanes Gov. Telesforo Castillejos said he knew it was all about politics and that the gunmen wanted him no less than dead.
In his hospital bed recovering from gunshot wounds in the head, shoulder and neck, Castillejos Thursday said he was now thinking of hiring bodyguards to protect him and his family from further attacks.
“I felt I was really the target. It was not a case of mistaken identity. It was really personal,” the governor said in Filipino when interviewed at Medical City in Pasig City.
“It’s politics, plain and simple … They know that they cannot just ease me out,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).
Castillejos blamed people who he said wanted him removed as governor for the attack.
His driver was also wounded in the assault that occurred pre-dawn Wednesday while they were on their way to the Manila Domestic Airport. The governor’s son, Dominic, who was also in the vehicle, was unhurt.
No inkling of danger
The governor said he and his family members had no enemies in Batanes since they grew up in the very peaceful Ivatan culture.
Even when his driver, Albert Patimo, noticed an SUV tailing them just before the shooting, Castillejos said he still had no inkling that somebody would try to kill them or that they were in any danger.
“That’s the mind-set of people in Batanes. We have nothing like that (political violence). I haven’t quarreled with anyone,” he said.
But even the peaceful Ivatan culture is not immune to political rifts.
Political rifts
Castillejos admitted that he had opponents in politics due to some disagreements and “falling outs,” which are usual in local politics.
But he said the conflict was merely because he had a different style of governance compared to other politicians.
“They are used to politics and money. Me, all I want is to do something that will directly benefit the people,” he said.
In fact, he said, this “changing style of politicking” was the first thing he thought about after he was shot.
“My first question was, has the style of politics changed in our place? I did not expect they’d go to the extent of violence. But they did this to me, they intended to kill me,” Castillejos said.
Not funny anymore
“We have to have security now because hindi na biro-biro ito (this is no longer funny),” the governor said.
Castillejos said former Gov. Vicente Gato recently filed a complaint against him in Malacañang for alleged malversation and usurpation of authority.
But he said the only basis of the case was his hiring of private auditors to audit contracts and transactions negotiated under the former administration of Batanes.
Even on that issue, he said, no word war had ensued between him and Gato.
Castillejos’ son-in-law, Joel Mendoza, described the governor as a quiet man who was slow to raise his voice.
“He usually walks from his house to the provincial capitol without any worry. People approach him without fear,” Mendoza said.
Family puzzled
Mendoza, whose wife Rosan is Castillejos’ youngest child, said he was as puzzled as the rest of the family were over the attack.
He said the Ivatans are peace-loving folk.
“There are no big theft cases, no violent crimes. The police usually log in incidents like drunken men stealing or cooking a neighbor’s chicken, things like those,” Mendoza said.
Storeowners in Batanes even leave their wares unattended without a worry, Mendoza said. Lost cell phones are always returned to their owners, usually tourists visiting the country’s northernmost island.
With a population of 16,000 in 2007, Batanes is known as the country’s most peaceful province.
Amateur gunmen
But two weeks before the ambush, text messages circulated in the province, warning about Castillejos reportedly being suspended from office.
Senior Supt. Marietto Valerio, the Pasay City police chief, said the police were still tracing the source of the messages.
“It’s difficult to say, but as of now, we are looking at the political motive,” Valerio said.
An official of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said the attempt on the governor’s life may have been carried out by amateurs.
“Personally, I don’t think they were professional killers. Assuming that he was going to be deliberately killed, the next thing they should have done after (the governor’s) vehicle stopped was to finish him off... do it point blank but it’s not what happened. It wasn’t that professional if that’s the motive (to kill),” said Senior Supt. Erickson Velasquez, chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-National Capital Region.
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