Politics eyed in slay try on party-list solon

The police are looking into “political conflict” as the primary motive for the attempt on the life of a party-list congressman on Sunday afternoon in Marikina City.

Kakusa party-list Representative Ranulfo Canonigo, who is still recovering from his injuries at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City, told investigators that the shooting could be related to his work as a lawmaker.

“But he refused to answer when we asked him who would want to kill him,” Senior Superintendent Gabriel Lopez, Marikina police chief, told the Inquirer in a phone interview Tuesday.

He added that he and other police officers went to the hospital to talk to Canonigo.

The 62-year-old congressman had just come from the airport after arriving from Zamboanga del Norte when he was shot several times by a man on a motorcycle who was backed up by three other men.

The shooting happened as Canonigo was seated in his van in front of his house, waiting for the vehicle to enter the garage.

“He saw the gunman open the car door on his side and point the gun at him. He tried to grapple for the gun but the assailant was quick to fire,” Lopez said, narrating the shooting as it was told to them by the congressman.

He added that only Canonigo could describe his attacker as he was the only one who saw him at close range.

Senior Inspector Eduardo Cayetano, head of the Marikina criminal investigation unit, said that the other people who were present—the congressman’s driver and aide—were unable to provide them with clear descriptions of the attackers.

“Thus, we would be relying heavily on the victim’s statements,” he added.

But Lopez said Canonigo was still too weak to answer their questions. “When he refused to reveal who his suspect was, we no longer asked him further questions. Maybe next time, he will tell us,” he added.

Canonigo represents Kakusa (Kapatiran ng mga Nakulong na Walang Sala), which supports prisoners and detainees wrongly accused of crimes.