Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr. (Facebook)

House Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. has castigated the police in his province for supposedly not lifting a finger on the disturbing series of killings involving local public officials.

Gonzales, the second highest-ranked official in the House of Representatives, called out the Philippine National Police (PNP) on the matter during a privilege speech Monday, Nov.18

According to him, at least five barangay officers and a municipal councilor have been killed between April 30, 2022 and last Tuesday, Nov. 12.

“Nakakalungkot isipin na hindi pa man nareresolba ang mga patayan noong 2022 ay patuloy pa ring nangyayari ang mga ganitong klaseng krimen sa aking distrito,” the House leader told his colleagues in plenary.

(It's saddening to think that such crimes continue in my district even as the killings back in 2022 remain unresolved.)

“And I can’t help but think: Are these recent deaths related to illegal drug trade? Quarrying? O baka naman dahil sa illegal gambling sa probinsya? May kinalaman din ba ito sa election?…Ilan pa ba ang mamatay bago kumilos ang lokal na kapulisan?” Gonzales asked.

(Or maybe because of illegal gambling in the province? Does this have anything to do with the election?...How many will die before the local police acts on it?)

He said he would file a resolution calling for an immediate investigation, in aid of legislation, into the “senseless and unresolved killings” of local public officials in his district.

Gonzales said the killings are being perpetrated by hitmen and assassins “with impunity".

He called on the local police to “enforce the law to the fullest extent--they must keep the peace, arrest and prosecute the criminals and bring them to the bar of justice".

The veteran solon from Pampanga said the victims’ families “deserve both justice and closure".

“The perpetrators must be exposed and should be punished within the full extent of the law. Their conviction shall provide the victims’ family with closure and shall allow them to begin to heal and mourn the loss properly,” he said.

Gonzales identified the six deaths as follows: Barangay Captain Alvin Mendoza of Alasas, City of San Fernando (shot 16 times on April 30, 2022); Barangay Captain Jesus Liang of Sto. Rosario, also in San Fernando (shot on Dec. 28, 2022); former Board Member and Pampanga Liga ng mga Barangay President Gerome Tubig (shot multiple times on April 17, 2023); Barangay Captain Matt Ryan de la Cruz (shot multiple times on June 11, 2024); Barangay Captain Norberto “Mel” Lumbang of Laquios, Arayat (shot with a rifle inside the barangay hall on Aug. 11, 2024); and Municipal Councilor Federico Hipolito of Arayat, Pampanga (gunned downcp by motorcycle-riding assailants on Nov. 12, 2024).

“As usual, the police have yet to determine the motive for the attack,” Gonzales said of Hipolito's killing. The congressman showed video footages of the incidents.

Gonzales urged his colleagues to support his call for an inquiry into the “senseless and unresolved killings in my district.” 

“Justice may have many faces, but in the end, I believe it’s primarily about accountability,” he said.