Graphic evidence of killinge

A CCTV tape showed graphic evidence of the killers of Dutch aid worker Willhelm Geertman as they fled from the scene of the crime on a motorcycle in Brgy. Sto. Domingo, Angeles City, Tuesday.

The identities of the killers had been captured indelibly by the CCTV tape. No reason police could still fail to file charges against the duo plus the one who drove them away from the crime scene.

That killing of Geertman is the second this year of a foreign missionary in the country. It can paint the Philippines as a dangerous place for foreign aid workers coming into the country merely to help the poor and marginalized citizens.

It also paints the Philippine police and security forces as negligent of their duties to protect foreign nationals, especially those who are here only to aid the poor and the helpless.

The slaying of another Italian missionary in Mindanao remains still among the unresolved killings, although the identities of the perpetrators had reportedly been named.

Otherwise, nothing much has been mentioned about the progress of the investigation into Fausto “Fr.Pops”Tentorio’s death.

While Geertman’s killing was termed by the police as robbery with homicide, it was evident in the circumstances mentioned by witnesses that there was something more behind it. Not just robbery.

Although it was known that the Dutch missionary had just withdrawn a large of money from an Angeles City bank.

Witnesses also claimed to have noticed several suspicious looking men loitering and parking their vehicles outside Geertman’s office.

As testified to by several witnesses, Geertman arrived at his office on board a Nissan Frontier at past noon shortly after drawing some P1.2-million from a Metrobank branch in Angeles to finance farming projects.

Ramilo Margallo, an ABI staff member, said when he let Geertman in, two men barged into the office and cursed Greetman.

Another witness, a regional NUJP vice president, said he saw the men force Greetman to kneel down and then shot him execution style.

As described by witnesses, it does not seem to be just simple robbery. It seems that there may have been other underlying motives since Greetman had for almost 40 years been involved in several causes such as those for poor farmers and indigenous people, as well as anti-mining campaigns.

He will be buried in Aurora in Maria Aurora town of the province.

Greetman has spent his life in Aurora since 1979 when Bishop Julio Labayen, then head of the Prelature of Infanta, Quezon, had asked him to serve the poor there.

This is one case that President Benigno Aquino III could not leave just to subalterns. It is a black mark against this administration, which has a string of assassinations and killings in this country, mostly unsolved.

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The temporary restraining order (TRO) by Bacolod Regional Trial court Judge Fernando Elumba to prevent the Register of Deeds from annotating that the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program also covers the 50-hectares of the Negros First Ranch in Barangay Santo Rosa, Murcia, deserves kudos.

Provincial Legal officer Jose Ma. Valencia deserves kudos, too, for taking up the cudgels for the provincial government. He questioned the basis for the ROD’s move to annotate the provincial property as unconstitutional. It was based on a memorandum circular that provides the basis for the annotation of adverse claims of agricultural lands distributed by DAR.

Reports reaching this writer showed that several landowners and corporations had filed similar petitions for TRO against ROD in several places questioning the procedure as extra-amounting to confiscatory.

Let’s wait for the outcome of these cases. It’s really a hot issue, albeit silently take by most of the petitioners.

To Valencia, our congratulations for his courageous stand.

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Of course it is still too early to congratulate Senator Edgardo Angara and his son, Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, on their promised support for the passage of the Sugarcane Industry Development Act.

The brain child of Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District), it specifically outlines the establishment of a Sugarcane Industry Development Fund. During his term as Secretary of Agriculture, Angara proved to be a major ally of the sugar industry. He enacted the ACEF that gave rise to the Philippine Sugar Research Institute, which paved the way for the rise in the country’s sugar production.

A belated salute to Angara.

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The arrest Thursday of 13 persons, including a casual employee of the city government, in two drug dens was a signal achievement by the Bacolod police Anti-Illegal Drugs Operations Task group.

That was a signal that CAIDSTOG chief senior Inspector Niel Exaltado is no ordinary anti-drug chief. He means business.

The 13 were arrested taking drugs and sleeping it off in two suspected drug dens – the residence of Juvy Dacumos, alias “Tata,” 30, of Purok Sigay, Brgy. 22 and that of a 66-year-old.

Charges are now being readied against both Dacumos and Medel as well as against the arrested users.

Our salute to Exaltado for job well done. May you have many more in the days to come.*

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