ALBAY ATTACK
MANILA, Philippines — Ako Bicol Rep., Rodel Batocabe and his police escort were shot dead in Albay on Saturday afternoon.
The 52-year-old Batocabe was attending a gift-giving event for senior citizens and persons with disability in Barangay Burgos in Daraga, Albay, when he was shot at about 3 p.m., Supt. Benito Dipad, chief of Daraga Municipal Police Station, told Inquirer in a phone interview.
Batocabe and his escort, still unidentified as of this writing, were taken to a private hospital in Legazpi City, where they were declared dead.
As of this posting, the authorities have yet to find a suspect and the motive behind the killing.
Batocabe was vice chairman of three House committees — on dangerous drugs; good government and public accountability; and natural resources.
Batocabe was also running for mayor of Daraga in the 2019 election.
Palace
Meanwhile, Malacañang condemned the killing of Representative Batocabe in Albay.
“We denounce the senseless killing of Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe in Albay this (Saturday) afternoon,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
“Proper authorities are now investigating this brazen murder as we vow to leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators of this felonious act to justice,” he added.
“The Palace,” he said, “likewise expresses its deep condolences to his bereaved family, his loved ones, as well as his friends and colleagues in Congress during this moment of great grief.”
Senators
Senators also condemned the killing of Representative Batocabe, with Senator Grace Poe calling for an end to “political violence“ in the country.
“I am outraged at the killing of Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Rodel Batocabe by unknown assailants in Daraga, Albay, on Saturday,” Senator Sonny Angara said in a statement.
“This deplorable act of violence has no place in a democratic society like ours,” he added.
Angara then urged the police “to run after the suspects and bring them to the bar of justice at the soonest possible time.”
Poe, meanwhile, deplored not only the killing of Batocabe but also of Joelito “Jukens” Talaid, former mayor of Kadingilan town in Bukidnon.
“We deplore the killing of Ako Bicol Rep. Batocabe and former Mayor Talaid,” Poe said in a separate statement.
“We exhort authorities to act fast to make the killers accountable. This sorry history in our nation of political violence must stop,” she further said.
House speaker
House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for her part, called for a “speedy and thorough” investigation on Batocabe’s killing.
Arroyo said that nothing can justify the killing of Batocabe, whom she called an “ally and friend.”
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the killing of an ally and friend, Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe. Nothing can justify his murder and that of his police aide,” she said in a statement.