Buscaino says Calamba chief behind strafing
Calamba, Cebu City Councilman Richard Buscaino accused village chief Yvonne Feliciano of being behind the threats he received recently.
In an interview yesterday, Buscaino believed that Feliciano got irked after he filed legal charges over alleged illegal procurement of office supplies against her and it could be the ground for threatening him.
“Katong gi-filan og kaso ang barangay captain sa Calamba. No other, kasi yung mga text nagli-lead sa kanya,” he told reporters yesterday.
Last February, all the barangay councilors, including Buscaino, lodged charges against Feliciano before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
This was after they have received notice from Commission on Audit asking them to answer the alleged illegal procurement of office supplies, among others, amounting to almost P5 million in 2015.
Sought for comment, Feliciano said she could not think of any reason why Buscaino is putting the blame on her.
“Mao lagi na ako naguol ko nganong ako man iyang gipasanginlan nga murag layo raman kaayo na sa akong kuan. Ako gyuy maghimo og problema sa akong kaugalingong barangay? Moingon ko personal gud mi nga amigo niya, ako personal niyang amigo. Sa iyang pagkakonsehal okay ra sad mi,” she said.
Feliciano said she has not received the complaint filed against her as of press time.
She said she has no personal knowledge on the “extracurricular activities” done by Buscaino that led to the incidents the past few days.
On March 1, Buscaino's funeral parlor and vehicle were strafed by unidentified suspects. Buscaino's vehicle, an Isuzu Galloper, parked near San Fernando Funeral Homes was shot seven times on the windshield of the driver's side portion.
After what had happened, he received death threats via text messages.
“Boang ka nag-umpisa nalang ang laro natin chard, markadong bungo kana. Maghirap ka muna bago kita patayin, wala ng atrasan to,” Buscaino said.
He said he will ask the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation in identifying the phone numbers of the sender of the text messages.
Buscaino said they were just recently informed that Feliciano has a reported “illegal transaction.”
Even though they are good friends with Feliciano, he never hesitated to file complaint on the matter saying he can't tolerate the “irregular” doings of the village chief.
“Kauban man mi, kaso nakagawa siya ng kasalan. Hindi pwede i-tolerate lang siya. Siyempre nung nalaman ko, gi-question ko,” Buscaino said.
Aside from this, he said Feliciano usually knows where he usually hangs out.
Buscaino said he could not think that the strafing incidents can be attributed to the fraternity that he is part of. He heads the Akrho fraternity.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña, for his part, suspected a police officer that is behind the strafing incidents involving Buscaino's properties.
When asked why, Osmeña said he cannot announce it as it is also bothering him.
“So, we're monitoring the situation very closely, very closely. So there's more than meets the eye. Klaro kaayo isog kaayo siya, ug klaro kaayo that there is coercion, they are trying to apply pressure for him to succumb to something,” the mayor said.
Osmeña assured that he will do what he can to assist Buscaino.