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| Philippine Daily Inquirer By DJ Yap, Beverly T. Natividad First Posted 01:41:00 09/04/2008 |
| Batanes governor survives ambush ___________________ |
| GOV AND IVATAN CHILDREN |
| Ivatan children pay their respect to Batanes Gov. Telesforo Castillejos in this file photo taken on June 26, Batanes Day, in Basco. PDI PHOTO |
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| GOV'S PAJERO |
| Batanes Gov. Telesforo Castillejos' Mitsubishi Pajero is riddled with bullets after the pre-dawn ambush in Parañaque City. He was on the way to the domestic airport. At press time, doctors said Castillejos was stable but his driver's condition was still serious. JESS YUSON |
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| MANILA, Philippines - Batanes Gov. Telesforo Castillejos and his driver were shot and seriously wounded in a pre-dawn attack by unidentified men Wednesday while they were on their way to the Manila Domestic Airport in Pasay City. Batanes, the country's northernmost province, reportedly has a zero crime rate. Castillejos' son, Dominic, who was with them, was unhurt. A "very angry" President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered authorities to immediately get to the bottom of the assassination attempt. She directed Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon to conduct "an intensive investigation and identify the culprits so they could be brought to the courts," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said. ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Castillejos, 61, who was hit in the head, neck and left shoulder, was declared in stable condition after a two-hour operation at Medical City on Ortigas Avenue in Pasig City. His wounds could have been fatal had he not received medical treatment immediately, Dr. Arnold Ozaeta, the attending physician, said in a statement. The driver, Albert Patimo, had two bullet wounds in the head and shoulder, and was still undergoing surgery at the hospital as of press time. The two were brought by Dominic Castillejos, 20, to Parañaque Doctors' Hospital immediately after the attack. No bodyguards "In the political history of Batanes, congressmen, governors, mayors and other officials go around in Batanes and outside Batanes without bodyguards because they know their political rivals. Sometimes, they are relatives or friends. They feel safe because true Ivatans never hurt each other physically," Basco Mayor Demetrius Paul Narag said. Asked for the gunmen's possible motives, Chief Supt. LuizoTicman of the Southern Police District said "we're probing the political motive because the person attacked is a public official." But, he said, this was "still speculative as of now." He quickly added that personal or business reasons were not being discounted. ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Batanes politics Director Geary Barias, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), told reporters at Camp Crame in Quezon City that "the political angle is viable but speculative. Everything is speculative at this point in time until we have the results of the investigation." Castillejos served as governor for two terms from 1992 to 1998. He ran in the congressional race in 1998 but lost to Florencio "Butch" Abad. He again sought the governor's post in the 2001 and 2004 elections but lost to former Gov. Vicente Gato. Last year, Castillejos returned to the capitol after a nine-year absence from local politics. "We have no enemies and for the many years that we've been in politics, this has never happened," his son, Carlo, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer Wednesday in a telephone interview in Basco, Batanes. The governor, together with his son and Patimo, left his house in Sun Valley Subdivision in Parañaque City in a blue Mitsubishi Pajero and headed for the airport to catch the 6 a.m. flight to Batanes when they were attacked along the West Service Road at about 3:30 a.m. They were without security detail. "It was dark and they didn't get a good look at the assassins. All they saw was a blue SUV (sports utility vehicle). They didn't see the model or plate number," said Senior Supt. Marietto Valerio, Pasay City police chief. Only loud thuds Dominic, who was at the back seat of the Pajero, told policemen that he noticed the SUV tailing them slowly and suddenly overtook and cut their vehicle's path from the left near the Merville Exit past the Kalayaan tollgate. He said he only heard loud thuds - a statement that initially sparked speculation that the assailants might have used silencers, but Valerio said it was normal that such gunshots could not be heard in a moving and closed vehicle. "It first sounded like rocks being pelted, but Dominic later realized that the stones were actually gunfire when he saw his father and the driver bleeding," Barias said. Patimo bore the brunt of the attack since the assailants shot them from the driver's side, Valerio said. Dominic took the wheel and sped to the nearest hospital, he added. Police recovered spent shells of 9-mm bullets from the scene. Arroyo visit Ms Arroyo briefly visited the governor at the hospital at around 2:30 p.m. and was able to talk to him. "She was very angry," Ermita said of the President who noted that the attack was unexpected considering that Batanes was considered the most peaceful place in the country. Abad, a member of the Liberal Party, also expressed shock over the attempt on the life of Castillejos. "The politics in Batanes is civil. Violent incidents like these are not part of the political culture of Batanes," he told the Inquirer in a phone interview. But he did concede that since Castillejos, a member of the Lakas party, was a political figure, "naturally, people will look at the political angle. But it's not part of our political culture." Special Mass Batanes Bishop Camilo Gregorio Wednesday officiated a special Mass for peace, sobriety and unity following the attack on Castillejos. "We come together having something in common: we love God, we love peace and we love Batanes," he said. "In the face of evil and violence, of which Gov. Telesforo Castillejos and his driver were victims today, we turn to God for protection and renew our trust and faith in Him that He will grant us protection, restore peace and harmony in our beloved Batanes," Gregorio said in his homily. "Let us not add more evil to what is already evil. Let us leave to God's justice the fate of those who perpetuated this shameful act," he said. Gregorio led Ivatans who attended the Mass in a candle lighting ceremony to symbolize their commitment to peace and love. "Let our love and faith energize us and bring recovery and healing to Batanes," he said. Vice Gov. William Agsunod called for a special session of the provincial board where provincial officials passed a resolution condemning the attack. Task force Castillejos' family said they were working closely with police to determine the motive of the attack and "bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice." "Our family would like to inform his constituency in Batanes that the governor is now in stable condition," according to a statement read by the governor's nephew Jun Abad at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. The NCRPO recommended the formation of a task force led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to probe the assassination attempt. "This investigation won't be just limited to the Metro Manila area and may even reach Batanes," Barias said. With reports from Julie M. Aurelio, Christine O. Avendaño and Alcuin Papa; Juliet Cataluña and Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon Copyright 2008 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. 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