08/03/2021
STATEMENT OF REP. EDGAR MARY S. SARMIENTO REGARDING THE DEATH OF CALBAYOG CITY MAYOR RONALDO AQUINO
It is my deepest regret to inform our constituents and my fellow Calbayognons, that our beloved City Mayor Ronaldo P. Aquino died because of a shooting incident.
I would like to extend our deepest condolences to his family, his loved ones, and all of us Calbayognons.
Mayor Ronaldo Aquino and his three companions were killed along Laboyao Bridge, Brgy. Lonoy, Calbayog City. From the statements of the witnesses, they were riding a van when unknown assailants barraged their vehicle with bullets. The victims died as a result of the incident.
As I have repeatedly stated in the past, our city doesn’t deserve this kind of violence. Each time a shooting incident occurs in our district, I always have to ponder why such things have to happen. Why the need for violence? We can achieve more being at peace and in unity instead of being apart. As a practice, I constantly and immediately seek the help of the authorities and remind them to be neutral in the enforcement of the law and of their motto, ‘To Serve and Protect.' I’m hoping therefore that real and lasting justice be given to my dear friend, Mayor Ronaldo ‘Onald’ Aquino.
I am appealing once again to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and this time to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra to allow the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate what happened since uniformed personnel who are supposed to be the protectors of peace and order were involved in the shooting incident which led to the death of a fellow public servant, no less than the Local Chief Executive of Calbayog City.
As the duly elected Representative of the First District of Samar, upon the demise of Mayor Aquino, I want to assure my constituents that I will do everything possible that justice be served for Mayor Onald Aquino, whose sole intention is to continue the prosperity and the well-being of the City of Calbayog and the betterment of his constituents.
We now have two mayors in the city of Calbayog who were murdered in succession, therefore as the highest elected official of the District, I am calling all my fellow Calbayognons that we stand together as one to give justice to them. We fight for Calbayog!
