Assassination of Antonio Halili
| Assassination of Antonio Halili | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Philippine Drug War | |
 Tanuan City Mayor Antonio Halili with other city officials singing the national anthem moments before his assassination. | |
| Location | Tanuan City Hall, Tanauan, Batangas, Philippines |
| Date | July 2, 2018 |
| Target | Antonio Halili |
Attack type | Assassination |
| Weapons | Gun |
| Deaths | Antonio Halili |
Suspected perpetrators | 3 unknown person |
| Motive | Under investigation, possibly politics |
The Assassination of Antonio Halili, then-Mayor of Tanauan, Batangas occurred on July 2, 2018 during a flag raising ceremony at the city hall. He was killed by an unidentified gunman. Halili was the second Tanauan Mayor assassinated since Cesar Platon assassinated in April 2001 by the New People's Army while campaining against Hermilando Mandanas.
Background
The victim of the assassination, Antonio Halili was the mayor of Tanauan, a city in the northeast of Batangas province. In 2016, he garnered wide public attention for his "Walk of Shame" campaign which involved publicly parading suspected drug pushers. The suspects were made to wear cardboard signs encouraging people not to emulate their alleged crime. The act raised concerns from human rights officials.[1] Halili has publicly supported President Rodrigo Duterte's national campaign against illegal drugs but believed that drug lords should be the main target of the police operations.[2]
Halili himself was alleged by the police to be involved in the illegal drug trade. The politician has strongly denied the claim saying he would resign and have himself publicly paraded as a drug suspect if the police was able to come up substantial evidence for the claim.[1] The Mayor was stripped supervisory powers over the local police in October 2017 due to the proliferation of illegal drugs in his city.[2]
Assassination
The assassination of Tanauan Mayor Antonio Halili took place on July 2, 2018 at the Tanauan City Hall. Halili was attending a flag raising ceremony together with around 300 government employees and newly elected barangay officials before he was killed.[1] Tanauan Vice Mayor Jhoanna Villamor was standing beside the Halili at the time of the assassination.[2]
The killing took place during the singing of the national anthem and a single gunshot was heard disrupting the flag raising ceremony.[2]
Halili was rushed to the CP Reyes Hospital, but was declared dead at 8:45 a.m., less than an hour after he was shot.[3]
Investigation
Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde ordered the creation of a special investigation task group with Calabarzon regional director Edward Carranza acting on the order.[5]
Suspects
The police has identified two "persons of interest" who are suspected of playing a role in the killing of Halili. A third suspect was also still in the process of identification. All of these people are said to be involved in the illegal drug trade.[6] The gunman who killed Halili is suspected to be working with accomplices.[7]
On August 22, CCTV footages were revealed showing a white car owned by a suspected gunman parks near the gasoline station — about 1 kilometer away from the incident — dated July 2. A man emerges from the car wearing black T-shirt and green cap, and, not less than ten minutes later, he then returns to the car and drives away. Another showing the car driving back-and-forth at the memorial park near the City Hall were the incident took place. Soon after the incident, another CCTV showing the same car driving the expressway; it was revealed that the plate number of the car was changed, suspected that it is the getaway vehicle, and, according to the police, the plate number seen in the gas station was actually not issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTO). The man was yet to be identified by the police.[8]
Possible motive
The police is considering the motive of the assassination to be related to the illegal drug trade, due to the identities of their designated "persons of interest" although they are not ruling out political motives for the killing.[6] According to Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde, the police are also looking into a land dispute and a feud with a former high-ranking general in relation to the motive of the crime.[7]
Circumstances of the killing
The police held a reenactment of the crime on July 5, 2018. A spent shell of a 5.6 mm (0.22 in) bullet was found by the police on an empty lot where the unidentified gunman positioned himself for the hit. The police has not ascertained that the bullet came from the gunman's weapon. The weapon is concluded not to be a sniper, since the gunman decided to hit Halili in the chest and was viewed as not "confident" enough to aim for the mayor's head.[7]
It was initially reported that the distance between the gunman and Halili was 160 meters (520 ft) but was later established by the police to be just 76.8 meters (252 ft). The gunman was also concluded to have position himself on a higher elevation than the ground the mayor was standing.[7]
References
- 1 2 3 "Mayor known for humiliating drug suspects killed by sniper". CBS News. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 "Philippine Mayor Antonio Halili assassinated during ceremony". Al Jazeera. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ↑ Amoroso, Ed; Ozaeta, Arnell (3 July 2018). "'Walk of shame' mayor shot dead". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- ↑ "Update on Slain Mayor Halili". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ↑ Amoroso, Ed; Ozaeta, Arnell (3 July 2018). "'Walk of shame' mayor shot dead". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- 1 2 Bajo, Anna Felicia (3 July 2018). "Police eye 2 to 3 persons of interest in Halili killing". GMA News (in English and Filipino). Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 "Feud with ex-general, land dispute possible motives in Halili killing – PNP Chief". CNN Philippines. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ↑ "TV Patrol: Lalaki sa CCTV footage ng Tanauan mayor slay, kinikilala". ABS-CBN News – via YouTube.