MANILA — Authorities are preparing to file a case on the killing of a staff member of Bulacan congressional candidate Victor Silverio and two others.

Silverio said during the Kapihan sa QC on Sunday that the shooting may be politically motivated. 

However, he said they will not conduct background investigation on other candidates running to represent Bulacan's 3rd district at the House of Representatives. 

Running against Silverio are San Rafael, Bulacan Mayor Cholo Vialogo and independent candidate JG Agojo.

3 killed in San Rafael, Bulacan ambush

 "We never speculate. Sa totoo lang, Kahit gaano karumi po na isang tao or magiging katunggali ko now or in the future ayoko po na ako 'yung nagtuturo na ganito siya, ganyan siya. You leave it to the general public to conduct their own investigation," Silverio said.

(No matter how dirty a rival may be, I don't want to point fingers)

Last March 21, Bryan Villaflor, IT personnel of Silverio and his mother Bulacan 3rd District Rep. Lorna Silverio, died along with his partner and a male security personnel in an ambush in Barangay Capihan in San Rafael town.

According to the police, the three were aboard a black SUV when another black SUV chased after their vehicle. The three were later shot repeatedly. 

Regional police placed several checkpoints along Maharlika Highway and the Balagtas to San Rafael bypass road following the incident, according to Silverio. 

He said he has also sought additional security from the regional police.

"Of course, ca-cascade po 'yan na regional to provincial police kung saan nabibigyan naman tayo paminsan-minsan ng escort," Silverio said. 

(Of course, that is cascaded to the provincial police, who sometimes provide an escort)

PNP: Politika isa sa posibleng motibo sa San Rafael, Bulacan 'ambush' 

He added that incident has made members of his and his mother's staff fearful for their safety.

"Sa totoo lang, minsan napapag-usapan naming kampanya ba 'tong pinasok natin o giyera?" he said.

(To be honest, sometimes we ask ourselves if we are participating in an election campaign or a war)

In March, the Commission on Elections placed 36 areas across the country under its "red" category, or those that are of grave concern and have serious threats of armed election violence.

Another 156 areas are considered "orange".

These are areas of immediate concern where there are serious armed threats. 

KONTRA DAYA: 733 CAMPAIGN VIOLATIONS TALLIED

Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao said at the same forum that there are 733 verified reports of campaign violations as of April 11.

Arao cited numbers from the alliance Vote Report PH, which also found 10 deaths associated with election-related violence since February 11.

Red-tagging — accusing people and groups of being part of the decades-old communist armed struggle — was the most common type of violation that Kontra Daya recorded.

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