Daughter of slain Tanauan mayor to run in 2019

Angeline “Sweet” Halili, daughter of killed Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili, has filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for the mayoralty of the city in Batangas.

Halili submitted her COC before the local Commission on Elections (Comelec) office on Thursday morning, over three months after her father was shot dead during a flag raising ceremony.

According to investigators, Halili was probably shot from around 100 meters away.  Different video clips of the incident also went viral on social media.

READ: Controversial Tanauan mayor shot during flag ceremony

The older Halili gained national attention for his practice of parading petty criminals around the city streets, and later on presenting drug suspects in a so-called “Flores de Pusher.”

However, President Rodrigo Duterte said that Halili himself was linked to the drug trade after his name appeared in the list of narco-politicians.

Halili was even asked to surrender to the government’s anti-drug program, Oplan Tokhang.

After he was killed, Duterte speculated that this is a drug-related case.  Halili’s family has denied the allegations, saying that he would have preferred death than being a drug lord. /jpv

READ: Duterte: I told Halili not to get involved in illegal drugs

READ: No proof Halili was involved in drugs — spokesperson