Calbayog City holds funeral for slain mayor

The remains of Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino lie in state at the city’s sports facility. Photo from Calbayog City Information Office

TACLOBAN CITY – The remains of Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino were transferred from his residence to the city’s sports facility on Sunday to allow more people to pay their last respects to the slain leader.

His son Mark Aquino said they were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support of the Calbayognons.

“We are very thankful and grateful for their love and support to our father, to the mayor. This only shows how they love my father,” he said in a phone interview.

Mayor Aquino was killed in what the Philippine National Police in Eastern Visayas said was a shootout between the mayor’s group and policemen belonging to the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group and Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU) last March 8.

Aside from Aquino, five others were killed including his driver and police escort, two PDEU members, and a civilian who was hit by a stray bullet.

Aquino’s family has yet to decide when the burial of the slain mayor will be.

Aquino was the second Calbayog City mayor to get killed.

In May 2011, Aquino’s predecessor, Reynaldo Uy, was gunned down while attending a fiesta celebration in Hinabangan town. His killing remains unsolved.

Mark said they are optimistic that the case of their father will not suffer the same fate as that of Uy’s.

“We have witnesses who are willing to help us. They are willing to sacrifice even their own security and we are really grateful for that,” he said.

The Aquino family and their supporters maintain that the city mayor was killed in an ambush and not in a shootout as claimed by the police.