SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines – Ferdinand Bote, the mayor of General Tinio town in Nueva Ecija who was shot dead, has no links to illegal drugs, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Año announced on Wednesday, July 4.
“Alam mo bilang alkalde ‘yan ay isa na pinakamahirap na government position. Kung ikaw ay sobrang magaling, marami talagang nagpaplano ng masama sa iyo lalo na ‘yung mga criminal underworld, pero si Mayor Bote wala sa narco-list,” Año said in a radio interview.
(Being a mayor is one of the most difficult government positions. If you’re very skilled, people from the criminal underworld will really plan against you, but Mayor Bote is not in the narco-list.)
Bote was shot dead on Tuesday afternoon, July 3, onboard his Toyota Fortuner. His vehicle had just come out of the gate of the National Irrigation Administration office in Cabanatuan City.
In a separate radio interview on Wednesday, Philippine National Police (PNP) Central Luzon head Chief Superintendent Amador Corpus said they are looking at 3 possible motives behind Bote’s killing.
- Grudge from political enemies
- Dispute from his family’s quarrying business
- Anger over his construction business’ supposed links with government projects
Bote is the 10th mayor to be killed under the administration of mayor-turned-president Rodrigo Duterte. (READ: Mayors, vice mayors killed under Duterte gov’t)
Bote was shot dead just a day after another local chief executive, Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili, was killed by a sniper during a flag ceremony at the city hall.
Unlike Bote, Halili was linked to illegal drugs by the government, and also lost his powers over his city’s local police force in November 2017. – Rappler.com
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.