The police are looking into the pattern of violence committed against members of a party-list group after one of its nominees in the House of Representatives was killed and the house of another nominee was robbed the day after the killing.
On Saturday, Rep. Rodel Batocabe of Ako Bicol Party-list group was killed in the town of Daraga in Albay.
On Sunday, a burglar entered the house of Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., also a member of the Ako Bicol Party-list group, in Legazpi City, and took away cash and other belongings.
Police said they were trying to determine the motive for the two crimes and to see if they were related.
A robber, police said, forcibly entered the house of Garbin at Winsor St. Ridge View Subdivision, barangay Buragwis, Legazpi City early Sunday morning.
Initial investigation indicated that the burglar entered through the awning-type window of the victims’ toilet on the second floor.
Police said the robber took the personal bag of Garbin containing cash and checks worth P500,000 and several signature wristwatches.
However, investigators said that since the burglar only took Garbin’s bag while other valuable items like cell phones and pieces of jewelry were near the bag, it may be the documents in that bag that were the target of the burglary.
The incident happened the day after Batocabe and his bodyguard, SPO 1 Orlando Diaz were shot dead while they were leaving a gift-giving event in barangay Burgos, Daraga, Albay.
At the time of the robbery, Garbin was with House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. at the Legazpi Airport to fetch Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who paid her last respects to Batocabe at the Arcilla Hall of the Bicol University campus in Daraga, Albay.
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