NBI initial probe shows no link to destab plot in local execs’ slays

Initial investigation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has not found any links between a destabilization plot and the death of three local executives in a span of one week.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the NBI has failed to establish interrelation between the murders of Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili; General Tinio, Nueva Ecija Mayor Ferdinand Bote; and Trece Martires City, Cavite Vice Mayor Alex Lubigan last week.

Guevarra said he tasked the NBI to look into the possibility that the killings are part of a destabilization plot against the government.

“So far (the) initial findings of the NBI show that the incidents seem to be unrelated,” Guevarra said in a text message sent to reporters.

Lubigan was the third local government official killed this month, after Halili and Bote. Both killings are still under investigation.

Halili, who was in the government’s narco-list, was shot dead while attending a flag-raising ceremony on July 2.

On July 3, Bote was killed in an ambush in Cabanatuan City.

The initial findings of the NBI appeared to support the findings in the separate probe of the Philippine National Police.

Police had said that Halili’s murder could be related to illegal drug trade while the killings of Bote and Lubigan are probably politically motivated. /je