Cagayan mayor denies P1-M reward came from govt coffers

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan — City mayor Delfin Ting has denied claims that the P1 million reward money, which he put up for any information leading to the arrest of a gunman who tried to kill him last month, had been taken from government coffers. The mayor told reporters that the money came from his close friends, who pooled their resources to raise the amount. He also denied and decried speculations that he had shot himself with his own cal. 22 handgun, saying that police need to dig deeper into the circumstances, as he “is not a mentally-deranged person who will shoot my own face". The mayor also debunked speculations that New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were behind the killing. Saying that his security needed to be secured as he was the “father" of the city villagers, Ting also promised to give more reward money and protection to any person who can give vital information on the killers. A still unidentified gunman shot the 72 year-old mayor in his face on November 16 while the victim was standing near the entrance of Hotel Delfino in this city. Senior Superintendent Mao Aplasca, Cagayan police provincial director, said the gunman shot the mayor in the left lip, and the bullet exited through his nose bridge. Ting was immediately rushed to Saint Paul’s Hospital here, then later to an undisclosed facility in Metro Manila, where he recuperated. According to later police reports, the attempt on the mayor's life could have been political in nature. The mayor’s shooting was the 12th politically-motivated crime in Cagayan reported for November, according to news reports in late November, citing Director General Raul Bacalzo.— Joel Nueva/DM/JV, GMANews.TV