MikeLigalig.com

Thousands bid final farewell
to slain Bol-anon BIR director,
Jonas Dela Peña Amora

MARIKINA CITY - The well-loved Boholano BIR official who was ambushed and killed in Quezon City last Monday on his way to office was finally laid to his final rest yesterday midday under a gloomy, downcast sky at Loyola, Marikina City, with hundreds of relatives and friends weeping for the loss of what they consider a “great public servant and a genuine human being who deeply cared for people including strangers” while thousands of others from across the globe watched in grief the final moments on earth of Director Jonas Dela Peña Amora broadcast live on Facebook.

As this develops, authorities have released a cartographic sketch of the gunmen who ambushed and shot to death Amora, the Makati-based Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Regional Director, who was inside his car en route to his office in Makati City at 5:20 a.m.

Following his death, BIR officials and employees issued the following statement:

“We roundly condemn his senseless and cruel murder, and call on the authorities to bring his assassins to justice.

“The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for men to do nothing.

“The Bureau will not be intimidated, threatened or coerced, into the dereliction or abandonment of our responsibilities, nor will we be enslaved by ruthless elements who worship at the altar of iniquity. Rather, we shall be ever more determined to fulfill our mandate, as a tribute to our fallen comrade.”

Amora sustained four gunshot wounds to the body after riding-in-tandem assassins overtook his government-issued Toyota Innova car, driven by Angelito Pineda, and peppered the car with bullets at a junction near C-5 Highway in Quezon City. The late Ombudsman Aniano Desierto was also ambushed but survived at the same area where Amora died on the spot. Angelito Pineda, his driver, was also wounded and still confined in a hospital in Manila, unable to talk.

As Amora, a native of Anda, Bohol, was laid to his final rest, loved ones and friends reecho their call for Pres. Duterte to help find justice to the slain father of two daughters and a son. His wife, Tessie, at Arlington Chapel, an hour before her husband’s body was brought to Loyola, Marikina, told mourners how unbearable the pain is, for her and for their three children, now that a great husband and a great father had gone.

Amora, who rose to the ranks at the internal revenue bureau, his employer since graduating college from Urios College (now University) in Butuan City, was supposed to travel to New Zealand, a day before he was murdered, to participate in a conference.

But according to James Porter, a family friend, Amora declined the conference invitation “because, if he travels, he would miss work days and fail to hit BIR’s collection quota.”

BIR officials described Amora as a workhorse at the revenue agency. Previously, he headed the regional BIR bureau in Quezon City.

Due to his outstanding work in tax collection in which Amora followed the law to the letter, he was assigned to head the Makati Office, who has the jurisdiction over the country’s financial district.

Hard work was already embedded in the DNA of Amora. A valedictorian graduate at Bacong Elementary School in Anda, Bohol, and later finished high school in Holy Infant Academy, also in Anda, Bohol, Amora sent himself to college as a working student.

After finishing accountancy degree at then Urios College, he took the CPA exam and passed it at one attempt. He then worked as an entry-level tax examiner in Surigao, then in Butuan City.

Eventually, his hard work and diligence and commitment to collect tax, considered as the lifeblood of the nation, the BIR National Office recognized his performance, and Amora was then assigned in the National Capital Region.

Since assigned in Manila, he consistently met all his tax collection quotas, believing that it was his way of helping the country become financially stable.

Amora never compromised his godly principles. He was strict to all businesses in demanding compliance with their tax obligations.

But to friends and strangers, Amora was an extraordinarily loving man, who was quiet and calm at any time and at any gatherings. He rarely spoke as his words were reserved to the most important topics. He was often seen in deep thought, always looking for ways how he can better serve the government and the people.

Last Monday, he woke up at past 4 a.m., aiming to leave his home before 5 a.m. so that he could beat traffic and reach his office around 7 a.m. and be able to join the flag-raising ceremony.

But assassins had already waited for him outside his residence. As soon as his car left home, the gunmen followed his vehicle, and at a junction near C-5 Highway, guns-for-hire killed one of the most humble persons on earth and one of the most generous hearts in this generation.

Rafaela Avanceña, a BIR executive, considered Director Jonas Amora as “My boss, my mentor, a father figure, a kind hearted friend, a motivator and a dedicated hardworking public servant. One of the very few on his league. The first ISO Certified Regional Director in the BIR who made a milestone!”

Upon learning of the tragic death of Amora on Monday, 60 days after Amora celebrated his 55th birthday, Avanceña wrote on her Facebook account: “Writing this with a heavy heart. Why do bad things happen to good men? “

“Today a very dedicated , hardworking , principled employee of the BIR was gunned down by heartless people.

“He was a religious family man, a mentor of highest caliber, a very good friend to everyone, jolly fellow and a patriotic public servant of the government.

“He has a big heart for the less privileged, a man with few words but full of wisdom, a music lover, an intelligent strategic manager and very active team player.

“He is a big loss for the agency that helped propelled the nation’s development.”

Then she addressed her message to Amora:

“Sir, you may have gone ahead of us, but your legacy continues.

Now you may rest in peace, no more collection target to think of even in holidays. The people you have touched in your life are grieving for your early untimely demise. The Lord knows your kind heart. We love you sir and I am personally forever grateful for all your assistance and teachings.” (LIGALIG MIKE ORTEGA)

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