Opposition solons condemn murder of Tanauan Mayor Halili

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the death of Halili can be attributed to the “climate of killing and impunity” that President Rodrigo Duterte “created and nurtured.” (Photo: Tanauan City’s Hope/Facebook)

Opposition lawmakers on Tuesday, July 3, condemned the killing of Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili who was shot dead during a flag-raising ceremony in his town yesterday morning.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the death of Halili can be attributed to the “climate of killing and impunity” that President Rodrigo Duterte “created and nurtured.”

“This is another murder that possibly rode on the wave of killings in the country,” Hontiveros claimed.

“Political assassinations, like extrajudicial killings, are direct assaults on democracy. They abandon modern procedural justice in favor of satisfying the lust for blood and violence. The President has brought us back to the dark ages,” she added.

The President may have not used a gun to kill Halili, but for Senator Leila de Lima, he murdered the local executive through his ‘words.’

“Ordinarily, it might be true that words do not kill. But when one is the President, words become orders. This is how Duterte gives the killers their mandate to kill, and protects them from whatever semblance of the law still remains under his administration,” de Lima said.

In his speech during the anniversary of Maasin City, Southern Leyte on Monday night, the Chief Executive said the mayor got what he deserved for his involvement in illegal drug trade.

“Kanina, si Halili sa Batangas. Kunwari ipa-procession ang mga addicts, siya pala, siya ‘yun (Earlier, Halili in Batangas. He pretended to shame addicts by parading them, but he was involved in illegal drugs himself, it was him),” he said.

“I suspect he was into drugs. I just suspect,” he added.

Reacting to the remarks made by the President, Halili’s second child, Angeline, defended her father, saying drug allegations thrown against the mayor are not true as it has not been proven.

“We’re honest people. We’re not gonna do anything na makakasira sa mga buhay ng ibang tao, lalo na mga tao namin dito sa Tanauan. Ang gusto lang namin is makatulong at malinis lang (that will destroy other people’s lives, especially people here in Tanauan. What we wanted to do is to help and clean up the city),” the young Halili told ABS-CBN’s Umagang Kay Ganda.

She also said Duterte was misinformed regarding her father.

“Hindi ko rin naman masisisi iyung Presidente natin na makapagsalita ng ganoon kung siya naman ay nabibigyan ng mga hindi totoong impormasyon at ang mga impormasyon na ibinibigay sa kaniya ay nakakasakit at nakakapanira lang po sa mga taong gumagawa ng maganda (I cannot blame the President for saying such thing if he was fed with wrong information and information meant to hurt and defame those who are doing good acts),” she stressed.

“Kung si Presidente natin pumunta sa amin (If the President would visit us), to be with us every day, he would know the truth,” she continued.

Murder capital of Asia

Amid the spate of killings in the Philippines, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV accused Duterte of turning the country into “murder capital of Asia.”

“For someone who promised to restore peace and order in our country during the campaign, it is ironic for a lot of people that Duterte has actually turned the Philippines into the murder capital of Asia,” Trillanes, one of the staunchest critics of Duterte administration said in a statement.

Like Hontiveros, Trillanes said the murder of public officials and even Catholic priests only proved that Filipinos are no longer safe.

“Duterte’s culture of violence is upon us. No one is safe now. Regardless, whether Mayor Halili is involved in the illegal drug trade, nothing justifies this murder,” he said.

Halili was known for his “walk of shame” campaign where criminals carrying “Wag tularan (Do not emulate)” slogan paraded around his town.

In 2017, Halili was stripped off of control over the police force for his supposed involvement in the drug trade. The mayor, however, denied the allegations.