Danao.- Mayor Louis Thomas Gonzaga, of this town, has denied allegations conceived by his political detractors that he was maintaining bodyguards for his safety as published by local weeklies without taking his side of the story.  The mayor’s reaction came following the recent shooting incident of a certain Rowen Gonzaga, his relative, a contractor and a candidate for councilor here. The victim was unharmed, however. In the news story, it was insinuated that he has a hand of the shooting which took place in barangay Poblacion, pointing to a certain Dionisio Cosical, his alleged security aide. In an interview, Gonzaga told the Post that he even drives his own car without anybody assisting him. But now that the election is fast approaching he might change his mind and may hire bodyguards since he’s sliding down to vice-mayor since his third term as mayor expires next year. He fielded his mother Natividad Gonzaga for mayor. His cousin and incumbent vice-mayor Jose Gonzaga Cepedoza filed his COC to regain his old post as mayor.

 The mayor said he is contemplating to let the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a separate probe on the shooting of Rowen Gonzaga, who is aligned with the vice-mayor, to ferret out the truth and to prove he had nothing to do with the shooting.  The mayor said there’s an the emerging pattern of killing mostly of his men which “was getting suspicious.” The latest victim was one Mario Roldan Torres of Inabanga town, who was shot to death while he was on board with his motorcycle. He is married and worked as liaison officer of Cantakoy hydro electric power plant in this town. Another victim of killing was a town employee known as one Walter Melencion who was shot dead in Barangay Sta. Fe, Danao. Melencion, a resident of Poblacion, Danao, was having a drink with the barangay captain when he was shot by the suspect with a caliber .45 pistol. He was rushed to the Tubigon Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

 A certain Reynaldo Duavis Jr., 24, married, and a security guard, was shot on June 12 2012 by still unidentified three men at sitio Can-aga, barangay Magtangtang while he was riding his motorcycle. He sustained injuries in different parts of his body.  The town legal consultant lawyer Dodilon Sabejon was also shot while he was on his way to his office at Sarabia-Co-Torralba building along CPG Ave., Tagbilaran City.  The mayor said the “pattern of the violent incidents point to a common denominators: the victims are either municipal employees of Danao town or workers of Cantakoy Hydro Plant and that he counted all four among his most loyal political supporters.”