MARAGONDON, Cavite – A black Toyota Hilux that matches the vehicle used by the assailants of Trece Martires, Cavite Vice Mayor Alexander Lubigan, was found abandoned at the Mabacao-Pantihan 1Bridge in Tulay B village here at 6:55 a.m. Wednesday.
Cavite Police Director, Senior Supt. William Segun, said local folks initially found the vehicle, which bore no license plate or a conduction sticker. They reported it to village officials, who in turn alerted the mayor, the governor, and the police.
“Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) investigators were at the site immediately to process the vehicle,“ Segun said.
However, Maragondon Police chief, Senior Insp. Rez Abanico Alovera, said that although the vehicle is similar to the one used by Lubigan’s killers, “we cannot confirm yet whether it was indeed the one used by the suspects.”
Lubigan and his driver, Romulo Guillemer, were shot dead in an ambush while on board his vehicle along Trece-Indang Road in Barangay Luciano, Trece Martires City last July 7.
He was the third local government official killed this month, after Tanauan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili and General Tinio, Nueva Ecija Mayor Ferdinand Bote. The killings are still under investigation.
Halili, who was on the government’s narco-list, was shot dead while attending a flag-raising ceremony on July 2. The following day, Bote was killed in an ambush in Cabanatuan City. (Gladys Pino with reports from Benjamin Pulta/PNA)
