Palace condemns killing of La Union mayor

Malacañang on Tuesday condemned the killing of Sudipen, La Union Mayor Alexander Buquing, the 11th local chief executive killed under the Duterte administration.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the government would push for a fast investigation to put Buquing’s killers to justice.

“Like all killings, we condemn it and we commit to conduct a fast investigation to uncover the individuals behind this latest attack,” Roque said in a press briefing.

READ: La Union town mayor, along with driver and cop, killed in ambush

Buquing was killed in an ambush with PO2 Rolando Juanbe and his driver Boni Depdepen Monday night. Vice Mayor Wendy Joy Buquing, the mayor’s wife, was also wounded in the shooting.

The mayor, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds, was rushed to the Ilocos Sur District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

Some of the slain local officials allegedly have links to illegal drugs. Buquing, however, was not included in the so-called “narcolist,” the police noted.

While the killings may be attributed to the upcoming election season, Roque said putting the assailants to justice is the only way to address the spate of killings.

“Hindi ko po sinasabi na justified pero alam niyo kasi panahon na ng pulitika (I am not saying that the killings are justified but it is already a season for politics),” he said.

“So ang katotohanan niyan, ang tanging solusyon diyan is dapat maparusahan lahat ng pumapatay para maibalik ang takot sa puso at isipan ng mga pumapatay sa lipunan (So the truth is the only solution to that problem is to bring the perpetrators to justice so we can bring back fear to the hearts of those who commit these crimes),” he added. /ee

READ: Where’s our mayor? 10 local execs slain since 2016, reports show