Who is Ruben Feliciano?

San Fernando mayoral candidate Ruben Feliciano | CDN Digital photo via Rosalie Abatayo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The controversial mayoral candidate of San Fernando town, Cebu, Ruben Feliciano was gunned down by unknown perpetrators outside his rented home in Barangay Apas, Cebu City.

His nephew Kim was also wounded in the attack after sustaining a gunshot wound in the body in the first shooting incident recorded in Cebu City for 2021.

Police are still deep into their investigation to unmask the perpetrators and the motives for the killing of the businessman and ex-mayoral candidate, but Police Captain Renz Talosig said they will look into every angle.

Feliciano, a businessman, was a controversial candidate in the 2019 elections when he ran against incumbent Mayor Lakambini “Neneth” Reluya and was pointed as a possible suspect in the ambush of the mayor and her husband prior to the elections.

Reluya and her husband, former Panadtaran barangay captain and Liga ng mga Barangay President, Ricardo “Nonoy” Reluya, were ambushed in Talisay City in January 2019, where Ricardo died.

Mayor Reluya said the ambush was politically motivated and this led to an investigation on whether her political opponent, Feliciano had a hand in it.

Feliciano cooperated with the investigation and even submitted himself to the police to clear his name days after the incident. He firmly denied the allegations and up to this day, his alleged connection to the ambush remains unproven.

Still, the controversy continued until the 2019 elections.

Four of Feliciano’s supporters allegedly had caused an armed ruckus at the vicinity of the house of a municipal council candidate in Barangay Bugho.

The four men who were arrested in the mountain barangay of Bugho, San Fernando town were among the supporters and volunteers who joined his political sortie and allegedly fired at military men.

The military then had a command post in Barangay Magsico, a neighboring barangay of Bugho.

Following the incident, Feliciano denied that his men were armed and would fire at any law enforcement authority, let alone the military.

He called for a fair investigation of the incident and claimed that the investigation was controlled by Reluya to gain traction in the elections.

After the bloody elections in San Fernando that year, which resulted in the death of four officials, Reluya won the hotly-contested polls with a margin of over 6,000 votes against Feliciano.

After the elections, Feliciano has gone off media radar and reportedly returned to his business ventures until the shooting incident on January 1, 2021, more than a year and a half after the elections.

Feliciano was found dead outside his rented home, where he was staying since the first week of December 2020.

His landlady said that Felciano began renting the place in September 2020 but left for some time before returning in the first week of December.

The neighbors said that he was a “good man” with a “good disposition,” and they were aware that he was a businessman owning certain establishments in the area, although the police have not confirmed this information.

The body of San Fernando ex-mayoral candidate Ruben Feliciano is being attended to after he was shot dead by still unidentified assailants. | Paul Lauro

The neighbors said that a white van drove by on the night of the incident and armed men shot Feliciano and his nephew multiple times.

The police found two gunshot wounds in Feliciano’s arm and body, while Kim was hit on the side. Feliciano expired on the spot.

“Atong tan-awon ning mga anggulo sa iyang pagkamatay. Businessman man ni siya, pwede nga business related. Kandidato siya sauna, possible nga pulitika. Apan sa pagkakaron ato giuna ang pagpangita sa mga suspetsado,” said Talosig.

The Mabolo Police Station is calling on witnesses to come forth and testify over the killings so the police can find a lead over Feliciano and his nephew’s deaths.

The police will also look into the closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the area to see if the incident was caught on camera.

Talosig hopes for the cooperation of the live-in-partner of Feliciano so they can find a lead on the businessman’s death. He also hopes for the cooperation of the family for a faster investigation. /rcg