Family and rivalry

THE Sunday PUNCH condoles with the family and friends of Ramon and Zorahayda Arcinue who were killed in cold blood by a suspected hired gun on March 7.

They were a couple in public service – with Ramon having once served as vice mayor of Lingayen and Zorahayda was incumbent chairman of Barangay Poblacion, also in the capital town – which means their lives were entwined in politics. While there is no official word from either the family or the authorities investigating the case that the murders were politically-motivated, it is certainly one of other angles that should be looked into. And as it commonly is in the Philippines, politics and business could be closely connected to family affairs or vice versa.

But whatever happened to the case filed against the two suspects who were arrested for the attempted murder of the couple almost exactly one year ago? One of them was related to a political rival of Zorahayda while the other was related to her by affinity.

Police authorities, including from Manila where the murder took place and the province, as well as the National Bureau of Investigation, are now on the trail of the perpetrators. If justice were to be truly served, the mastermind – the person or persons who had the motive to pay for the killing – has to be identified and made to account for the crime.

The Arcinue couple assassination appears to be a sad, distressing reflection of business, family feuds or local politics could get not just dirty, but deadly in the country.

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Proceed

WE note the two wins for the prosecution as we go to this week’s crucial resumption of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona: 1) Corona’s bank documents had been accepted as evidence and, 2) Prosecution lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre was not jailed for contempt after cupping his ears while Miriam Santiago was lambasting the prosecution for dropping five of the eight articles of impeachment. (Jailing Aguirre would have been the height of irony.  Since when is refusing to listen a crime?).

Next week’s trial will be worth watching and listening to see the defense team can rebut and negate the impact of the pieces of evidence on Corona’s bank records that had already been marked.

The trial resumes on Tuesday. As presiding chair Juan Ponce Enrile loves to say, “Proceed!”

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