Isabela mayor faces murder raps for ambush of rival's supporters

The mayor of Santiago City in Isabela province is facing a frustrated and attempted murder charges for allegedly ordering the ambush of the convoy of her rival's supporters on the eve of the May 10, 2010 elections. Retired colonel Renato Turingan and Jennifer Juan Layugan filed the complaint before the Department of Justice on Wednesday accusing Mayor Amelita Navarro and 54 others for the crime, where an unidentified driver was killed, and two others wounded. The respondents include 19 policemen and private supporters of Navarro. Turingan and Layugan are local campaign handlers of Navarro's rival, Armand Tan. Navarro won by about 2,000 votes against Tan in the May 10 polls. "The ambush was done upon the direction of, in conspiracy with and for the benefit of the candidacy of [Navarro] using the membersof the city's public order and safety department who were working for and directly under her office, the local police force who are known to be in her payroll, as well as her agents and reprentatives who took orders from her," the complainants alleged. "[Navarro] masterminded and planned the ambush, as evidenced by the fact that persons who implemented the ambush are personalities under her control and supervision," they added. A murder complaint was already filed before the Santiago City prosecutor's office for the death of the driver. The prosecutor, however, junked the murder complaint on Tuesday. The dismissal of the murder complaint prompted the complainants to file the frustrated and attempted murder complaint at the Department of Justice. "We understand that the public prosecutors at the Office of the City Prosecutor in Santiago City receive discretionary allowances from the Santiago City government, through Mayor Navarro. Hence, a strong element of bias willl taint the handling of the instant complaint by the Santiago City public prosecutors," read the complaint. – VVP, GMANews.TV