Mayor charged with slay try on legislator

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Northern Mindanao filed multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges against Iligan City Mayor Celso Regencia and 14 others for the Dec. 11 ambush on Iligan City Rep. Vicente “Varf” Belmonte.

Belmonte survived the ambush, which took place as he was coming out of the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental after arriving from Manila.

Three of his companions, including a police escort, however, were killed.

A suspect, Dominador Tumala, was arrested and several firearms were recovered hidden near the airport.

Senior Supt. Alexander Tagum, CIDG head for Northern Mindanao, said the cases against Regencia and the other respondents were filed at the Misamis Oriental prosecutor’s office on Wednesday.

A staffer at the prosecutor’s office, who declined to be identified, confirmed that the office has received the complaint sheet from the CIDG.

The staffer said the provincial prosecutor will form a panel to conduct a preliminary investigation.

Tagum said the charges were based on pieces of evidence gathered by the CIDG, the Misamis Oriental provincial police office, the Special Investigation Task Group Belmonte, Regional Investigation Unit, the police Crime Laboratory Unit, the Northern Mindanao police and the National Bureau of Investigation in Northern Mindanao.

Regencia could not be reached yet for comment.

But earlier, he responded to a statement by Belmonte saying the ambush was politically-motivated.

Although Belmonte did not identify him, Regencia said he felt alluded to and denied any hand in the ambush.

Edmundo Pacamalan Jr., the provincial administrator of Misamis Oriental, earlier said during his conversation with

Belmonte at the provincial hospital in Alubijid town, the Iligan City lawmaker had confided that he knew who ordered the attack.

“He said the attack was political in nature,” Pacamalan said.

Belmonte and Regencia, former Iligan City police chief, had been at odds when Belmonte supported the filing of a complaint against Regencia and amid rumors that Belmonte would run against Regencia in the mayoral race in 2016.

In March, Belmonte went to the Iligan City police station, along with Vice Mayor Ruderic Marzo and nine councilors, to express support for an administrative case filed by lawyer Tomas Cabili on Feb. 25, 2014 against Regencia. The case was filed at the Office of the President.

Cabili had accused Regencia of grave abuse of authority after Regencia fired

Cabili as city legal officer of Iligan.

Regencia was also suspected of involvement in the killing on Aug. 29, 2013 of a radio man, Fernando Solijon of radio station dxLS and known to be close to Belmonte.

But Regencia had said suspicions about his involvement in the killing of Solijon are baseless. He said he even offered a reward for the solution of the murder case. Bobby Lagsa, Inquirer Mindanao