There is no systematic killing of mayors as critics of President Duterte had alleged since the assassinations of Mayor Antonio Halili of Tanauan City, Batangas and Mayor Ferdinand Bote of General Tinio in Nueva Ecija “were not related,” Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Eduardo Año said yesterday.

According to Año, he did not see any pattern in the killings even as local executives expressed fears the twin deaths were related to President Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign.

Año met yesterday with officials of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) who had sought a meeting with President Duterte to express their concern over the safety of local executives.

“Each case has its own facts. They are not at all related. In fact, only a small portion (is) definitely drug-related,” Año said.

“Hindi lahat ng mga kaso ng pagpatay ay may kinalaman sa droga (Not all cases of killing are connected to illegal drugs). The rest are personal, political and other reasons,” Año said.

Año assured the mayors there is no cause for concern and that the Philippine National Police (PNP) will provide them with additional security.

“Ang ating kapulisan naman po ay handang magbigay ng karagdagang seguridad anumang oras sa ating mga alkalde at iba pang lokal na opisyal. Makipag-ugnayan lang po kayo sa kanila (The PNP is ready to provide added security to mayors and other local officials. Just coordinate with them),” Año told the mayors.

Año said local executives may file a request and the PNP will validate if the alleged threats on them are credible.

“The PNP decides on these requests on a case-to-case basis,” he said.

Bote was gunned down by a motorcycle-riding assassin last Tuesday afternoon as he was coming out of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) office in Cabanatuan City, while Halili was shot dead by an unidentified gunman while attending the flag-raising ceremony with city hall employees last Monday.

Año tried to dispel the LMP’s fears, saying the PNP is on top of both cases and is doing its best to find the two assassins.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III branded as an “attack against democracy” the killing of Bote who was a PDP party member.

Pimentel, PDP national president, urged the PNP to spare no one in its ongoing probe of the broad-daylight ambush in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

“It’s a condemnable attack by forces that have no place in our democratic way of life. The attack on the mayor is also an attack on our democracy,” Pimentel said in a statement.

Police authorities launched an immediate investigation following the killing of Bote whom Pimentel praised as “a loyal party member who was known for his friendliness, generosity and hands-on governance.”

Among the angles being investigated by police are politics and construction and quarry business.

Bote was serving his first term as mayor after two terms as vice mayor when killed.

“The investigation should spare no one and should be swift and credible leading to the apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel also urged the police to take a “pro-active stance” in working with local communities in the maintenance of law and order by increasing police visibility.

The senator also batted for a “stricter enforcement” of the gun-control law and a more rigorous screening in the issuance of permits to own and carry firearms. He called for a nationwide crackdown and confiscation and destruction of unlicensed firearms.

Police authorities have not apprehended any suspects in either killing.

“The twin killings of local officials have shaken not only the families of the victims but also ordinary Filipinos who believe in a safe and peaceful way of life,” Pimentel said.

Meanwhile, Nueva Ecija Gov. Cherry Umali is offering a P1 million reward for information that will lead to the arrest of the persons behind Bote’s slay.

Bote, who was on board his vehicle, was repeatedly shot with a short firearm by still-unidentified motorcycle-riding suspects around 4:30 p.m. outside the office of National Irrigation Administration in Cabanatuan City last Monday.