Philippine Mayor Worried Over His Life

published by Philippine News Agency -

A former mayor here has revealed a serious threat on his life from unidentified persons whom he claimed initially paid P200,000 to still unidentified hired killers in order to assassinate him. 

Mayor Sammy Rosario, mayor here from 2004 to 2010 but now staying more often in Manila, said in a press conference here Sunday that unidentified persons have been stalking him in his house in Makati City and wherever he goes, apparently waiting for the right opportunity to deliver the final blow.

An engineer and contractor in Manila, Rosario said at first he ignored the threat but he had this confirmed through confidential agents who gathered from sources that the threat on his life is for real. His source said the unidentified mastermind had in fact made initial payment to the hired killers.

Rosario, who is close to Vice President Jejomar Binay, admitted he has tightened his security to prevent the hired killers from carrying out the plot.

"In fact the hired killers' plan is to duplicate the killings on the Arcinues of Lingayen that happened in front of their rented apartment on Maceda Street in Sampaloc, Manila in March," he said.

The killings of the Arcinue couple (Ramon and Zorahayda, former vice mayor and incumbent barangay captain in Lingayen, respectively) remain unsolved even as the couple's eldest son, Carl Jonathan Arcinue, continues to appeal on radio in Pangasinan for the apprehension of the killers and the mastermind.

Rosario admitted, however, that the threat is actually not new to him because he was already mayor when he became the target of assassination attempt though at that time, his security was tight as he was still at the helm.

Reading a press statement before the media with his lawyer Armenio Escat beside him, Rosario said he cannot ignore the threat as he values his life and that of his family, thus he doubled his security here in Pangasinan as well as in Manila.

"I cannot imagine that these people learned where we are living in Manila, the plate numbers of our vehicles and the places where I am frequenting, that was why I am taking all the necessary precautions," he said.

He said the threat may not have stemmed from his business in Manila as he has no business rival that is why he attributes it more to local politics in Pangasinan as he is determined to go back to his old post as mayor of Binmaley which he held for six years.