SAN JORGE, Samar – The
snowballing political rift between San Jorge Mayor Joseph Grey and the
town’s Vice-Mayor Marcelina Yu has started to make sense with the
alleged intrusion of the military over the town’s political issue via
some so-called officious activities being perpetrated by members of
the 34th Infantry Battalion against the local chief executive.
In an interview last
week, Mayor Grey disclosed that despite his relentless effort into
assisting the army in their locality with supplies and other forms of
assistance, “it seems that the present leadership of the 34th IB has
no intention to simply go about their task as soldiers and go after
the enemies of the state and would continue prying with our political
activities”, Mayor Grey informed.
He expressed his alarm
over last week’s report that a military man identified in the police
logbook here as PFC Gilberto Alap-an, was seen jotting down the plate
number of the new vehicle he is using.
“I am full of death
threats at present, because of my intensive drive against criminality
in our town, then here comes a military man and without reason is
executing thought provoking actions, why are they doing that? They
also want to kill me?”, the mayor stressed.
Immediately after
being informed about the incident, he wrote LtCol. Glorivine Dida of
the 34th Infantry Battalion here requesting for an explanation of the
said soldier’s actuations, but as of this writing the mayor did not
get any reply yet.
The Mayor revealed
that the incident was not the first that they have observed in the
recent months, and pointed out that an obvious alliance between the
military and his vice-mayor is allegedly in place.
According to Mayor
Grey, two of his supporters were murdered by still unidentified
killers, but their camp is suspecting that the military allegedly has
a hand on both killings based on the circumstances that they have
observed, “and that even links to our vice-mayor here”, the mayor
alleged. It was learned that a certain Danilo Adona aka “wangbu”, an
identified supporter of Mayor Grey was recently found dead in a rice
field near the boundary of Sta. Margarita and Gandara towns.
“The body bore marks
of torture, and his hands were tied with tie-wires”, Mayor Grey told,
and added that Adona is mentally ill but can be pacified by him and
his son whenever he is in the mood for making trouble.
Mayor Grey likewise
bared the untoward incident that happened to one of his former
security guard, identified as Crisanto Bocaboc aka “bunso”, which was
found dead in Brgy. Adela Heights of Gandara town.
“Both of them are
identified supporters of mine, and both of them get complained by our
vice-mayor for allegedly threatening to kill her, and both of them
died after their names landed in our police blotter books, and why we
should not suspect the army? In the case of Adona for example, why is
it that a soldier from the 34th IB would be interested with a mentally
ill person by taking his pictures when I placed him in police
custody?” the mayor stressed.
He pointed out that
such actions of the army, who has extended personal security details
to Vice-Mayor Marcelina Yu, are glaring circumstance that the army
allegedly has a hand in the numerous killings occurring in the said
area.
“And worst is that,
they are pointing each of the killings towards me including other
accusations, gaya nong paratang na Drug Lord daw ako, I know that my
vice-mayor and the present 34th IB leadership is apt on something
against me, pero ito lang ang masasabi ko sa kanila, they cannot put a
good man down”, Mayor Grey concluded.
