Published in the Bohol Standard on April 22, 2007
Bohol - Is the reported slay plan to eliminate city mayoralty candidate Jose V. Torralba for real or a plain media hype.
In a report published by the Bohol Chronicle in its Wednesday edition, incumbent city mayor Dan Lim said, “the allegations of a slay plot against his rival former city mayor Joe Torralba is nothing but "a bad script."
Lim dared Bohol PNP provincial director Senior Supt. Edgardo Ingking and newly designated city police chief Supt. Abner Catalla, to look into the matter and interrogate the "confessed witness" and "interpreter" to the negotiation that allegedly took place in Marantao, Lanao del Sur, Mindanao to engage the services of guns for hire to kill a certain Mayor Torralba.
A sworn statement executed by one Ali Inolaca Hassan, resident of Marantao, Lanao del Sur and the self-confessed interpreter to the negotiation that took place between a certain Commander Gagamba and three alleged intermediaries to contract a gun for hire, allege that the target of the murder plot is a certain Mayor Torralba of Tagbilaran, Bohol.
According to Hassan, the assassination would be made to look like a vehicular accident so as not to be linked to politics.
Hassan said the gun-for-hire contractors wanted only two would-be assassins but Commander Gagamba recommended three men. The three were identified in the affidavit as Mangola Alip alias Mac or Abet, who is reportedly the triggerman in the assassination of Lanao del Norte Gov. Abalos, Arnel Salonga alias Asiong Fireman and Faisal Ombra Sarip alias Sarip.
The contract price was said to be P300,000 plus a mobilization and firearms refund of P50,000.
However, the " contract was not closed" as the three gun-for-hire contractors promised to come back, Hassan further said. According to his affidavit, he informed Torralba about the plan to murder him in order to protect Muslims here in Tagbilaran who might be affected when fellow Muslims would be identified as the assassins.
"When there is an attempt on your life, first thing you do to is call the police station. Only a desperate politician will go the newspapers and place a one-page advertisement," Mayor Lim said.
"This is a welcome development that provides a comic relief to the campaign," the mayor added.
Lim said he would like to have a copy of the alleged confession so that he can send this to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to support his request to place the city under Comelec control.
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