Former Abra vice gov killed, 2 aides wounded in Marikina

Rolando Somera—Photo courtesy of Somera family

A former vice governor of Abra province was shot dead while his two companions were wounded by a masked gunman who waited for them to come out of a cockpit arena in Marikina City in the wee hours of Saturday.

One of the children of Rolando Somera said the 62-year-old politician was in high spirits a day before he was killed, as he had just received an endorsement from former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to be a director of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA).

Flanked by two aides, Somera had just stepped out of the San Roque cockpit arena in Barangay San Roque around 1:15 a.m. and was walking toward his gray Fortuner when the pistol-wielding assailant approached and fired at close range, according to a report to the Eastern Police District (EPD).

Case investigator SPO2 Bueneres Cruz said Somera, who sustained three gunshot wounds in the back and two more in the chest, died on the spot.

His two assistants—Reynaldo de Luna, 46, and Wilfredo Apalisoc, 59—were hit by stray bullets and were brought by tricycle to different hospitals, where they remained confined at press time.

Quoting eyewitnesses, Cruz said the gunman had an accomplice who served as a lookout. Closed circuit television cameras in the area caught them running away from the crime scene after the shooting and getting into a green getaway car.

Cruz said Somera, a cockfight aficionado who also owned a breeding farm, had been at the arena since 1 p.m. on Friday.

The police ruled out robbery as the motive as there were no valuables taken from the victim or his vehicle. Recovered from the crime scene were five bullet casings of .45-caliber rounds.

Somera’s political career spanned almost three decades and included earlier stints as provincial board member and a nine-year service as mayor. He was staying in Cainta, Rizal, at the time of his death.

He served as Abra vice governor from 2010 to 2013. A member of the Nacionalista Party, he made an unsuccessful run for congressman in 2013 and again for vice governor in the 2016 elections.

Somera’s eldest daughter Jaja Josefina Disono, the current mayor of Pilar, Abra, declined to comment on who could be behind the killing and for what reason.
“Let’s just wait for the result of the police investigation,” she told the Inquirer at Ka Andres Memorial Chapel in Marikina.

“I hope we will get justice here. I hope the police will help us,” Disono said, adding that her father’s remains will be brought to Pilar, Abra, in the next two to three days.

Pilar Vice Mayor Christopher Baroña, Somera’s son-in-law, said the former vice governor had not spoken of any threat, which was why news of his murder came as a shock to his family and supporters in Pilar.

According to Somera’s 21-year-old son Mark Roland, he last had a chat with his father on Friday morning, when the latter happily spoke of a letter he had just received from former Senator Marcos endorsing him to be one of the directors of the NTA, an agency under the Department of Agriculture.

“We came from a family of farmers. My father wanted to help develop the tobacco industry in our province that’s why he liked the work possibly awaiting him,” Disono said.

Apalisoc, one of the wounded aides, recalled that his boss was indeed in high spirits on Friday and that Somera mentioned a scheduled meeting he would have with Marcos and former Sen. Manny Villar next week.—WITH REPORTS FROM HANNAH PEREZ AND LEONCIO BALBIN