MikeLigalig.com

Two workers at the resorts owned by Mayor Doloreich Dumaluan were instructed to throw away the body of the victim who was raped and murdered three years ago.

This was the latest revelation by witnesses who executed affidavits affirming what they heard from one of the workers.

The cry for justice for Vivian Dumaluan, the incoming high school senior whose dead body was found lifeless about 50 meters from the Dumaluan Beach Resort on April 27, 2004 has become the rallying cry of the Lakas-CMD ticket in Panglao.

Vivian, a poor relative of the Dumaluan, arrived in Panglao from Mindanao to work as a nanny of the mayor's younger brother.

Her dreams of at least finishing high school as a working student came to a nightmarish ending when she was brutally killed in the worst political gimmick ever in the town's history.

Pingmay Dumaluan, the mayor's younger brother, has been implicated along with detained accused Narciso "Isot" Maghamil in the gruesome rape-slay case.

While looking for a place to be used for a "show" during the 2004 election campaign, a witness said Pingmay himself declared "amo ning duwa ni Manong (This is our game)."

Lakas said Panglao voters now have no reason to even consider voting for Dumaluan because he will be arrested immediately once he is named accused in the case.

"Like Maghamil who is now detained while the case is still pending, all the accused will be put behind bars when a new information is filed against them," Lakas added.

Lakas also revealed that aside from the rape-murder case, Dumaluan is also facing at least two other cases - one for non-filing of Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) when he was still vice mayor and another for late filing when he assumed as mayor. The cases carry an administrative penalty of dismissal and removal of office with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

In his SALN as mayor which was filed late, Dumaluan himself stated that his actual net worth amounts to P112-million, making him the richest mayor ever of Panglao.

After riding on the rape-murder issue in the 2004 elections which caused the defeat of then Mayor Benedicto Alcala, Dumaluan has instead been more involved in Maghamil's defense.

One of his first acts upon assuming office in 2004 was to throw out the police officers who were investigating the case when they were about to solve it.

The latest witness to come out revealed that it was Dumaluan's workers who carried the body to the spot where it was later found by villagers who joined the search.

"He voluntarily confided to me that he together with another co-worker, were the one who carried the dead body of the rape victim in Panglao resort where he works," the witness narrated.

In his affidavit supporting Maghamil's motion for reinvestigation, the mayor said that after learning about the discovery of Vivian's body, he went to the place.

The mayor testified that Vivian's face was on the ground while her two hands were positioned towards her back, "as if pulled backwards."

During the 2004 campaign, Dumaluan boasted that he will drag the body of the suspect around the town. The boast has remained unfulfilled.

The simple Vivian has turned out to be greater in death than in life.

Her death was Dumaluan's main weapon against Alcala that led to his victory in the 2004 elections.

After witnesses came out one after the other to tell the real story of the rape-murder case, the cry for justice for Vivian has become the main issue that will decide this year's election in Panglao.

The tables are turned this time however. In place of Dumaluan's hollow boast in 2004, this time it is Alcala and his slate who is strongly demanding for justice for Vivian.

Lakas urged the people of Panglao to vote for candidates who are not implicated in any criminal activity.

"Panglao voters should elect officials who do not have Vivian's blood on their hands," Lakas added.

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published in the Bohol Chronicle 5/6/2007

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