Though not as volatile as the political intramurals that happen in other regions of Mindanao, the electoral atmosphere in Davao has had its share of violence (exclusive of the previous roster of murders we had earlier on published in this space).
Four other murder cases shared to us by Tony Ajero, this paper’s editor, are worth visiting. These are the killing of three more mayors and another one involving a mayoral candidate.
Believe it or not, there was no mayor killed during martial law period, which was lifted on January 17, 1981. Digos town mayor Nonito Llanos Jr., son of the former governor of Davao del Sur, was killed on March 26, 1982, fourteen months into the post-Marcos regime.
Six years later, at the height of the local polls campaign, another town executive was killed. Zosimo Bugas (1977-80), a former mayor of Nabunturan, was a victim of political assassination that has remained unsolved. He was attending a campaign rally when assailants showed up on stage and made sure he did not survive the attack. The Amman-based Jordan Times, in its January 4, 1988 issue, reported the incident:
“Three gunmen walked up on stage during a political rally [on January 4, 1988] on Mindanao Island, killed a pro-administration mayoral candidate and fled, officials reported.
“The victim, Zosimo Bugas, was sitting next to Rep. Lorenzo Sarmiento when the attack occurred during a rally at Nabutuan (sic) in Davao del Norte province.
“Mr. Bugas was a candidate for mayor of Pando (sic) town in the regional elections.”
Bugas was actually the position he previously held.
Twenty-three years later, Talaingod’s first mayor, Jose Libayao, was killed by rebels on September 5, 2001. Probers blamed the death on his anti-communist stance.
On the other hand, former Davao del Sur Board member Isidro Sarmiento, who was contesting the mayorship of the town of Malita, Davao del Sur, was killed along with his son by motorcycle-riding assassins on May 15, 2007, two days after the local elections.
The victim’s political rival for the mayoral post was Benjamin Bautista, Jr., namesake and son of former assemblyman Benjamin Bautista Sr., who represented the same province in the Marcos-era Batasang Pambansa.
Sarmiento could qualify as the lone Board member from Davao assassinated in local polls. But politically-motivated killings and insurgent-supported assassinations also extend to village chieftains or barangay captains.
Activist Mandug, Davao City, barangay captain Alexander L. Orcullo, also a newspaper editor, while driving home was shot dead after being told to alight and walk forward by a paramilitary group that hunted individuals suspected to side with the New People’s Army (NPA).
The Bantayog ng mga Bayani website chronicles the circumstances of his death:
“On the day of his 38th birthday, October 19, 1984, while Orcullo was driving home with his wife and youngest son (2 ½ years old), they were accosted by Armalite-wielding men in uniform in barangay Tigatto. He was ordered to leave the car and subjected to a body search. His arms raised, he was ordered to walk. He was then shot from behind, sustaining 13 gunshot wounds. One ‘Kapitan Inggo’, known to head a paramilitary group calling itself Philippine Liberation Organization, later claimed responsibility for the murder.”
On January 8, 2011, NPA rebels attacked and killed Ramon Danwata, village chieftain of Datu Danwata, Malita, Davao Occidental, after he ordered his men to fight back not knowing his escorts had already been disarmed.
Five years later, on May 3, 2016, unknown assailants ambushed Edison Alisoso, who was with a tribal leader, by motorcycle-riding attackers at Altavista, Bansalan, Davao del Sur.
Four months thereafter, on September 16, 1916, unidentified attackers ambushed Artemio Jimenez, barangay captain of Talomo, Davao City, and grandson of former Davao City mayor and interior secretary Luis T. Santos., and his bodyguard at Talisay, Ecoland Drive, Davao City.
Last April 21, 2018, Banlag village chief Danilo Daanton, Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) president and ex-oficio member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Monkayo, Compostela Valley Province, was gunned down in the town proper after playing basketball.
And on June 7, 2018, Talandang, Tugbok, Davao City, village chieftain Reynaldo Dumagan was ambushed at Magtuod, Talomo District, of the same city, by assassins riding on a red pick-up truck while on board a local disaster response vehicle.
Killing, as a form of political vendetta, is a fact of electoral life in the country. Long before post-war assassinations were even thought out to happen, there were already pre-war slays cited in publications as ‘politically motivated.’
The headline-hogging prewar assassination of Julio Nalundasan, an Ilocano politico who was killed by sniper fire in 1935, was arguably the most popular. His murder was attributed to Ferdinand E. Marcos, later Philippine president, but was acquitted by the Supreme Court (case G.R. No. L-47388). Nalundasan was the bitter rival of Mariano Marcos, father of Ferdinand.
