Tanauan mayor assassinated
Acity mayor who rose to national prominence by parading drug suspects on the streets was killed by a single bullet in the chest Monday morning, a daring assassination that opened a new front in the government’s war on drugs.
Mayor Antonio Halili of Tanauan, Batangas, was declared dead on arrival around 8:45 a.m. at the CP Reyes Memorial Medical Center following the shooting that marred the flag-raising ceremony at the city hall grounds.
Halili was felled by what police described as a skilled sharpshooter who hid himself in thick bushes, about 200 meters from where employees gathered for the weekly ceremony.
Security aides managed to return fire to where the deafening sound emanated, but the suspect was nowhere to be found.
Empty cartridges from caliber .45 and 9mm guns belonging to the security aides were found at the parking lot of the city hall.
Chief Superintendent Edward Carranza, regional director of the Calabarzon Police Regional Office
(PRO-4A), said the "spotting area" was discovered around 160 to 200 meters, northwest of the Tanauan City Hall.
That’s about the length of seven basketball courts.
"We believe it was where the gunman positioned himself, he was lying down. It was elevated, dense, and grassy. The gunman possibly had an aide, a spotter," Carranza said in Filipino.
"[The suspect is] highly-skilled, definitely, and this is a planned killing."
Carranza said the gunman and the spotter may have just walked into the grassy portion and made a hole among the thick grass where any target could easily be seen.
"Nobody saw the gunman. We have CCTV footage but no sightings of the gunman. But I believe they have a getaway vehicle," he added.
Carranza said no shell was found at the spotting area, “but we are hoping we can find the bullet that killed him."
The sun was out and the employees were about to finish singing the national anthem when a shot rang out around 8:10 a.m.
"We did not realize immediately that it was a gunshot. Only when the other employees started shouting that Mayor (Halili) was shot did we know what's going around," said one witness who asked not to be named.
Epifanio Yson, the victim’s brotherin-law who was at the scene, said he saw Halili knelt down after the shooting while clutching his left chest in an attempt to stop the blood from spilling.
"Suddenly, his uniform was smeared with blood. One security aide checked his cellphone in his left chest pocket. It had a hole and smoke was coming out of it," said Yson who is an executive assistant at the information office.
It became apparent that the bullet pierced through the mobile phone before entering the victim’s body.
Carranza said they will wait for the medical report from Dr. Alendrix Carandang to determine what type of bullet hit the slain mayor.
"From there, we can identify what type of bullet and gun were used, maybe cross-match it," he said.
Revenge is one of the possible motives being eyed by police.
The 72-year-old mayor started his controversial “walk of shame” campaign in 2013 long before Duterte rose into power.
Yson believes that drug lords are behind the mayor’s assassination.
"He is known to parade notorious criminals that are being arrested, especially the drug pushers," said Yson, his employee's uniform still smeared in blood.
"The drug lords must have been very angry because their operations have already been affected since many pushers were arrested here," he added.
Carranza has formed the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Halili to expedite the resolution of the case.
Despite his tough anti-drug crusade, Halili was linked to illegal drugs and was stripped of police power by the National Police Commission in October last year.
Following the shooting, police started flagging vehicles in several checkpoints in an attempt to find the suspects.
Vice Mayor Jhoanna Villamor will succeed Halili.
The 30-year-old vice mayor said she will continue the campaign against illegal drugs that was started by Halili. But she said that she will study first whether she would continue the slain mayor's walk of shame campaign. (With a report from Lyka Manalo)