Mayor ricky ramirez gipasanginlan nakapusil patay sa iya ra sad nga tawo.

[rudydignos]

---

CEBU, Philippines - Gipaubos sa imbestigasyon sa kapulisan sa probinsya ang mayor sa lungsod sa Medellin tungod sa mga tabi-tabi nga migawas nga mao kini nakapusil sa team leader sa iyang Mayor’s Squad niadtong Lunes sa gabii diha sa merkado publiko sa nahisgutang lungsod.

Subay niini lakip sa giimbestigar mao ang hepe sa kapulisan sa lungsod nga si Insp. Bonifacio Arriesgado ug pipila niini ka mga sakop nga on-duty niadtong higayona tungod kay wala makaduso dayon og spot report sa provincial headquarters.

Apan si Arreisgado nga nahinabi sa Banat News mitug-an nga wala gyud sila makahibawo nga dunay napusilan niadtong Lunes sa merkado publiko kundili nakahibawo lang siya niana nang Martes sa gabii nga dunay napusilan ug nalandig sa Severo Verallo District Hospital sa lungsod sa Bogo ug namatay ang biktima. Sa nasayran namatay sa tambalanan si Edelberto Abao alyas Delvi, 57, taga barangay Lucha, Medellin kinsa nakaangkon og samad pinusilan sa tuo nga paa.

Si Abao maoy team leader sa Watchman nga sakop sa Mayor’s Squad ni Mayor Ricky Ramirez nga maoy gitahasan sa pagbantay sa mga establisamento diha sa lungsod sa Medellin.

Matud ni Arreisgado nga niadtong Lunes ang mayor uban sa laing tulo ka Watchman nga naglakip kang Allen Setenta nag-roving palibot sa lungsod sa Medellin nianang alas-11 sa gabii ug diha nila mahibaw-ing napusilan si Abao ug gipadala sa district hospital sa Bogo.

Apan sa mga tabi-tabi nga ang mayor maoy nakapusil kang Abao, si Arreisgado miingon dili tinuod ang maong tabi-tabi apan giapil niya sa pag imbestigar ang mayor. Si Sr. Supt. Erson Digal mipadala og imbestigador gikan sa Investigation and Detective Management Branch (IDMB) pinangulohan ni SPO1 Kenneth Abella apan giingong wala mokooperar ang hospital tungod sa wala paghatag sa impormasyon bahin kang Abao.

Sa gihimong follow-up sa Banat News sa Bogo police station nailhan ang doktor nga si Nestor Casas ug ang nurse on-duty nga si Mary Christine Tajo. Apan si Tajo nga nahinabi sa Banat News sa iyang cellphone kagahapon sa hapon mipasabot nga dili siya maoy nataymingan nga nag-duty niadtong higayona.

Si Tajo nagkanayon nga siya lang maoy nataymingan niadtong Martes sa gabii sa tulo ka mga pulis gikan sa provincial headquarters pasado alas-11 sa gabii nga bag-o pa siyang misulod sa trabaho maong gibalibaran niya sila tungod kay si Casas ray makahimo niini.



Si Mayor Ramirez sa gipadalang text message dinhi sa Banat News mipadayag sa iyang kaguol sa nahitabo ug miingon nga miatubang na siya sa imbestigasyon sugod pa kagahapon diha sa iyang balay.

“Limpyo akong konsensya. Delvi Abao was my personal bodyguard and di to siya mosugot nga dunay lain mobantay sa ako except siya ra. That’s why gitukoran nako siya’g balay tapad sa akong balay para makakuyog siya sa akoa anytime,” matud pang Ramirez. Sumala pa niini dihang midaog siya pagkamayor iyang gikuhang regular nga empleyado isip supervisor sa mga gwardiya sa munisipyo,eskuylahan ug merkado si Abao.

Dugang pa niya nga matag gabii duawon gyud niya sa pwesto si Abao ug sila mag-uban nga magpatrolya.

Samtang giangkon niya nga tungod sa iyang pagkapolitiko dili kalikayang butangan og malisya ang kamatayon sa iyang sakop ug ang nahitabo kang Abao susama ra og nawad-an siya og miyembro sa pamilya. (BANAT)

[keyran]

karon pa lagi ko kabalita ani..kanus a man ni nahitabo..

[peewee_toot]

links please...

[ortizII]

kani c mayor pirmi ni banatan ni atty.banyoc

[kelso]

karon pa lagi ko kabalita ani..kanus a man ni nahitabo..

pag dec. 27 sa gabie bro,pero namatay pag 28 na.

under investigation pa si mayor ug mga kaubanan.

[rudydignos]

Medellin, Cebu—Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez wiped tears from his eyes with his shirt sleeve, saying he was angry and torn with grief with the start of the New Year.

He denied shooting his close aide, Edelberto Abao, 57,and denounced Senior Supt. Erson Digal, Cebu provincial police director, for calling him a suspect in the man's death.

Starting today, the mayor said the Medellin municipal government would withdraw all its logistical support from the town's police station.

“Sagol-sagol akong feelings sa New Year, di ko ka-understand, kaguol, kalagot. Digal has treated like a common criminal. Bisan gamay nalang untang respetar by talking to me personally, none,” said Ramirez at his home in Medellin.

“If he only came here, he would have realized how close I was to Delbi (Edelberto)... Personal grief and pun-an pa nga ikaw ang pasanginlan?”

Abao died a from a gunshot wound in the thigh amid unclear circumstances and conflicting reports that he was hit by a stray bullet or accidentally shot by the mayor on Dec. 27.

Senior Supt. Digal relieved the town police chief for not reporting the matter to superiors, and announced Friday that charges would be filed after the New Year as soon as affdavits of witnesses, whom he didn't identify, are wrapped up.

Mayor Ramirez yesterday said he knew the police would be presenting as a witness, the victim's son, Edelito “Bimbim” Abao.

The mayor questioned how the police could rely on a “dying declaration”, purportedly made by Abao to his son implicating the mayor, when Abao was still able to talk and receive guests before he underwent surgery at the Verallo District Hospital.

Mayor Ramirez said the younger Abao had a grudge against him for having told his late father, that Bimbim was going around in the company of a suspected drug pusher, Marianito Yaun, barangay captain of Antipolo-Medellin.

“Si Bimbim, naglagot gyud na nako kay ako man ang nagsumbong sa iyahang amahan nga kaning iyang anak, nagkuyog-kuyog ni Yaun,” Ramirez told CEBU DAILY NEWS.

In a separate interview, Digal took the mayor's accusation in stride.

“It's part and parcel of our duty as a law enforcer. Trabaho na namo to investigate and be fair and adjust.”

He said a joint investigation was underway by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7, the Provincial Intelligence Branch, Regional Intelligence 7 (R2) and Medellin police.

Digal said he never stated that the mayor committed a crime. All companions of the slain Abao, including the mayor, are suspects, he said.

The mayor earlier refused to submit to a paraffin test that would indicate whether he had recently fired a gun.

In Mayor Ramirez's account, he and members of his “mayor's squad” found Abao wounded and unconscious on a chair in the public market, where they were supposed to do a routine evening patrol.

The mayor denied other accounts circulating that he had accidentally shot the aide while doing target practice.

The mayor showed CDN the house he built for Abao's family next to his own house amid sugarcane fields about 50 meters from the main road.

“I felt like I lost a brother. You know I can never find someone as loyal and as protective as him (Abao),” said Ramirez.

“When he was about to be brought to the hospital in Bogo, he even told the other staff to promise to protect the mayor.”

He showed an improvised shooting range designed by Abao for the “Mayor's Squad”, a name Abao coined for the “peacekeeping force” of the mayor.

The mayor said he and Abao were doing target shooting there the day before the aide's fatal injury. This was supposedly the reason Ramirez refused to have a paraffin test, aware that he would show traces of gunpowder in his hand.

Ramirez said he already discused his predicament with his political allies, including Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, her father Rep. Pablo Garcia and 4th district Rep. Benhur Salimbangon during a New Year's Eve gathering in the house of Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung in Cebu City.

Ramirez said he would get back at Senior Supt. Digal for “maligning” him and demanded that the police chief make a public apology. Ramriez served as Medellin councilor for six years, vice mayor for nine years, and mayor for four years.

He said he would consult his lawyer on what charge to file against Digal.

“Bisan pa ug hutdon pa nako ang akong kabtangan para igasto sa kiha nako kang Digal, akong hutdon para niya,” said the mayor, shaking with anger.

The mayor said he believes the rumors against him were spread by his former ally, Bogo City Mayor Celestino Martinez Jr. He said Martinez was angry at him for facilitating the arrest and imprisonment of Martinez' ally, barangay captain Marianito Yaun, who was charged with drug peddling. Yaun was killed last Octobver in a shootout with police in Talamban, Cebu City.

[PaYaSo]

if not mayor then who is the suspect?he maybe hit by a stray bullet but from whom?

[kelso]

mao na mi ron padung gyud kang mayor martinez ang pasanginlan ni mayor ramirez.

[rudydignos]

OPEN LETTER TO THE PUBLIC

TO: THE OPINION EDITOR
FROM: MEDELLIN MAYOR RICARDO RAMIREZ

Please allow me to clarify to the public my sentiments against the CPPO Director Erson Digal regarding the incident in Medellin as there were suggestions for me to take the paraffin test and cooperate with the authorities to prove my innocence.
For one, I respectfully declined a paraffin test not just because I refused the paraffin test, but because I admitted right away that the result would be positive anyway because Edelberto “Delbi” Abao and I were firing the previous day. I even showed the police provincial deputy director around the firing range outside Delbi’s house, which is beside mine.
If the paraffin test is conducted to see if I was negative or positive of powder burns, and I already admitted I would test positive, what would be the use of going ahead with it? I also asked the team to also conduct a paraffin test on Delbi as this would corroborate my claim that the two of us were firing the previous day. But I heard from the family that no such test was conducted.
As for the suggestion for me to cooperate with authorities, the failure of the CPPO investigators to get my side was exactly the reason why I was, and am angry. I was not invited to their office, nor was there any CPPO investigator who came to me to ask what really happened. The deputy director came to me only for the paraffin test and that was it. My statement was not taken to balance whatever it was that they already had.
So with whom I was to cooperate with? The town’s police chief was relieved, Digal never saw me to ask what happened, and I did not hear from the investigator who was handling the case. I only learned about what the police was doing through Digal’s pronouncements to the media.
I had to give my statement to the media, because I heard about the supposed investigation only from the media and even after that, and until now, none from the CPPO or the CIDG showed the courtesy of getting my statement.
Which brings us to the matter of the law enforcement agencies. Digal said it was the CIDG who was handling the case, which he never mentioned during the press conferences until it was I who told the media it was a CIDG investigator who was doing the legwork. Then later Digal said he turned over the case to the CIDG on Dec. 30. But the family attested that CIDG investigator Angelito Yaun approached them to convince them for an autopsy the day before that, on Dec. 29. So what was Yaun doing there before the case was turned over to his unit?
Apparently, Digal does not trust that his own men, his own organization can do the job. He places his trust on someone in another agency without bothering to check whether that investigator was polluted.
Let me clarify to the public that I understand Digal’s job. This is why I expect him to do his job. I had high expectations from him. If the job of Digal and the police is to investigate, then they were not doing their jobs at all – which entails checking, verifying, confirming and re-checking.
I am not angry just because Digal named me as a suspect. What angered me was the way he dared to portray me as already guilty even before they could do an investigation. He says he did not tell the media that I was guilty. Yes, he did not specifically state that I was guilty. But his actuation and pronouncements would imply otherwise.
As mentioned by the good Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, and which I also pointed out in my presscon the other day, being circumspect is the call of the hour.
Mr. Digal, please, if you have a dictionary, look for the meaning of the word.
Thank you very much.

[rudydignos]

CIDG invites Medellin mayor for aide’s death

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG-7) has invited Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez and several members of the Mayor’s Squad in connection with the death of the mayor’s bodyguard.

A source from CIDG-7, who asked not to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the media, said they were also trying to convince members of the victim’s family to appear at the CIDG office and cooperate in the investigation.

The source said all persons present during the shooting incident would be invited, including Ramirez.

Members of Mayor's Squad who were invited by CIDG include Allen Setenta, Ernesto Caellite and Ernest Dosdos.

They were with Ramirez when the mayor visited a public market in Medellin town on Dec. 27 when the incident occured. They also helped rush the victim to the hospital after they found him slumped on the chair with a bullet wound on the thigh.

At least two witnesses have linked Ramirez to the killing of Edelberto Abao, a security aide of the mayor.

One was the victim’s son who claimed that his father told him before he died that it was the mayor who shot him.

Another was “kumpare” of the victim who claimed that Abao told him the mayor shot a stray cat in the market but the bullet hit him instead.

Aside from the two witnesses, investigators said they were looking for other witnesses to corroborate their statements.

Ramirez yesterday questioned why investigators had not gotten his side on the incident.

“As for the suggestion for me to cooperate with authorities, the failure of the CPPO (Cebu Provincial Police Office) investigators to get my side was exactly the reason why I was, and am angry. I was not invited to their office, nor was there any CPPO investigator who came to me to ask what really happened,” said Ramirez in a press statement. “The deputy director came to me only for the paraffin test and that was it. My statement was not taken to balance whatever it was that they already had.”

Ramirez said he was not angry for being tagged as a suspect but for being portrayed by Senior Supt. Erson Digal, CPPO chief, to be already guilty ahead of the investigation.

The CIDG-7 is now handling the investigation after Digal turned over the case to avoid accusations of being biased.

Digal earlier tagged Ramirez as a suspect in Abao’s death. Ramirez denied the allegations and demanded a public apology fron Digal.

Digal yesterday opted to keep mum on the case, saying he would wait for the results of the probe.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has opted to stay away from the conflict between her ally, Ramirez and Digal who visited her at the Capitol Monday afternoon.

Garcia said the conflict could have been avoided if Digal did not immediately name Ramirez as the primary suspect in Abao’s death.

Garcia called on the police to continue to do their job away from the limelight. “I would wish that the probe be conducted not through the media headlines but with the proper agencies... ,” Garcia pointed out.

The governor said that with the pullout of logistical support by the municipal government from the police station, she urged both parties that the peace and order in the town should not be compromised.

“I am not about to and I will never intervene in the case,” the governor added.

The Police Regional Office (PRO-7) assured residents of Medellin that police operations in their town would not be affected even if the local government unit (LGU) had withdrawn its support to the local police.

Senior Supt. Louie Oppus, Deputy Regional Director for Operation of PRO-7 said they would Digal.

He added there would be no problem if Ramirez had withdrawn his support to the local police in Medellin.

He said they have their own allocation to the logistic needs in the PNP organization.

Oppus said that based on operational procedures, Digal did not commit any violation when the latter tagged the mayor as a suspect. “Ramirez is still one of the suspects if it is not yet proven. Everybody could be treated as suspect,” Oppus said.

He added that Digal was just performing his duty as a police officer. /WITH DALE G. ISRAEL AND GABRIEL C. BONJOC