Daraga Mayor Carlwyn Baldo denies being the mastermind of Batocabe slay

It was then revealed that the plan to kill Batocabe was hatched in August 2018, when the latter announced that he will be running as mayor of Daraga. (File photo: AKO BICOL Party List/Facebook)

The mayor who has been tagged to be the mastermind in the assassination of AKO Bicol Representative Rodel Batocabe denied the allegations thrown against him by the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Just a few hours after the PNP chief, Director General Oscar Albayalde made the revelation, Daraga, Albay Mayor Carlwyn Baldo asserted in a press briefing on Thursday, January 3, that he did not order the killing of Batocabe and his police aide, Senior Police Officer (SPO) 1 Orlando Diaz.

Batocabe, who was eyeing the mayoral seat of Daraga, was killed along with his security escort after they attended a gift-giving event for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Barangay Burgos last December 22, Saturday,

“I assert my innocence. Let us not forget that while I am being used as a convenient scapegoat, those who are truly responsible for the crime remain free and blameless,” Baldo said.

“I am an easy target but that does not make me guilty of the crime. I am already being persecuted in the courts of public opinion,” he added.

As a public servant, Baldo said he just want to serve the people, stressing that he has a clean track record ever since he entered politics.

During a press conference held in Camp Crame, Albayalde said Baldo hired six persons for the killing of the congressman.

The PNP chief said one of the six hired individuals, Christopher Cabrera Naval alias “Tuping,” surrendered to the PNP Intelligence Group last December 30 and disclosed information to the investigators regarding the congressman’s murder.

It was then revealed that the plan to kill Batocabe was hatched in August 2018, when the latter announced that he will be running as mayor of Daraga.

Naval told the PNP that the incumbent mayor offered them five million pesos for Batocabe’s slay and paid an initial amount of P250,000 for the purchase of guns and motorcycle to be used for the crime.

[READ: PNP reveals mastermind behind Batocabe slay]

In his statement, Baldo refused to further discuss the matter until his camp “properly and formally” receives a copy of the complaint filed against him.

Cases of double murder and six counts of multiple frustrated murder were filed before the provincial prosecutor’s office of Albay against Baldo and his cohorts, according to the PNP chief.

Albayalde also ordered the revocation of the mayor’s firearms licenses and Permits to Carry Firearms outside of Residence (PTCFOR) as well as recommended the removal of Baldo’s power over the local police.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año lauded the PNP for solving Batocabe’s case “in record time and for identifying Daraga Mayor Carlwyn Baldo as the mastermind.”

Año said he will convene the National Police Commission that he chairs to strip Baldo of his deputation over the officers and men of the Daraga Police Station.

“The breakthrough, in this case, occurred because of [the] relentless police investigation and intelligence operations and we shall apply this standard in all possible acts of ‘political terrorism’ in connection with the forthcoming elections,” he stressed.

As directed by President Rodrigo Duterte, both Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and PNP, Año said, will “run after” those politicians who will resort to “political terrorism.”