By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The wife of former Moises Padilla Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) President Mark Garcia, who was recently killed in an ambush while campaigning in the municipality’s Barangay Inolingan, is seeking assistance from President Rodrigo Duterte.

“We are asking President Rodrigo Duterte to help us,” said Marijo Garcia, speaking for herself and her daughter. “We want justice.”

She echoed the accusations presented by Moises Padilla Vice Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo, blaming Moises Padilla Mayor Magdaleno Peña, claiming, “There is no other person who is behind the killing.”

Last week, Garcia-Yulo renewed her accusations claiming the mayor played a role in the deadly ambush, saying in a radio interview, Peña’s statements during a previous press conference showed he was “guilty.”

Earlier, Peña denied any involvement in the ambush, where he claimed the vice mayor’s family has a “history of killing each other,” pointing out an earlier incident involving the shooting of the now-slain former ABC official.

The mayor affirmed any case filed against him will not push through successfully since he had nothing to do with it.

Meanwhile, incumbent Moises Padilla Municipal Councilor Agustin ‘Nene’ Grande III, who was also accused of involvement in the killings, said his name was likely mentioned as he had earlier filed murder charges against Garcia-Yulo over the 2016 killing of his brother, Magdaleno Grande.

“I have nothing to do with the Garcia killings as I do not hold any personal grudges against them,” Grande stated. “I do not need to put the law into my hands; I have already sought the proper remedy [by] filing a criminal complaint against her.”/DGB, WDJ