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Caesar Perez

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Caesar P. Perez
Mayor of Los Baños, Laguna
In office
June 30, 2013 – December 3, 2020
Vice MayorAntonio Kalaw
(2019–2020)
Procopio Alipon
(2013–2019)[2]
Preceded byAnthony Genuino[1]
Succeeded byAntonio Kalaw (acting)
In office
June 30, 2001 – June 30, 2010
Preceded byFrancisco Lapis[3]
Succeeded byAnthony Genuino
Vice Governor of Laguna
In office
June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2013
Personal details
Born
Caesar Pabalate Perez

(1954-01-29)January 29, 1954
DiedDecember 3, 2020(2020-12-03) (aged 66)
Los Baños, Laguna
Political partyIndependent[4]
Other political
affiliations		Liberal Party (2016–2019)[5]
Akbayan (2013–2016)[3]
Lakas–CMD (2007–2013)
Children1

Caesar Pabalate Perez (January 29, 1954 – December 3, 2020) was a Filipino politician who served as mayor of Los Baños, Laguna for 17 non-consecutive years, from 2001 to 2010 and 2013 until his assassination in 2020, as well as vice governor of Laguna from 2010 to 2013.[6]

A farmer prior to entering politics,[7] Perez began his political career in 1989 as barangay captain of Batong Malake,[8] and was soon elected president of the Liga ng mga Barangay (lit. 'League of Barangays') in both the municipality of Los Baños and the province of Laguna.

On December 3, 2020, Perez was assassinated behind the municipal hall by a hidden gunman. Former opposition councilor Norvin Tamisin[9][10] was arrested in Baguio City in November 2021 due to his alleged connection to the assassination, but later testified before Congress that he was framed by authorities.[11][12][13]

Political career

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Mayor of Los Baños (2001–2010; 2013–2020)

[edit]

After serving as Vice Governor of Laguna from 2010 to 2013, Perez ran for mayor again under the Akbayan Citizens' Action Party in the 2013 elections, winning over reelectionist Anthony Genuino.[1] Upon his inauguration, Perez stated that his mayorship will focus on the town's sports development and traffic management, as well as the cleaning of Laguna de Bay.[9]

His tenure as mayor was characterized by a focus on environmental protection, with his ban on single-use plastic bags in 2008 making Los Baños the first municipality to regulate plastic bag use in the Philippines.[14][15] One of his staunch opponents throughout his mayorship was councilor Norvin Tamisin.[16][9][10]

Assassination

[edit]

Perez was assassinated behind the Los Baños municipal hall at approximately 8:45 p.m. on December 3, 2020.[17][18] He had just come from inspecting a project in Barangay Baybayin with Councilor Janos Lapiz when he arrived at the municipal hall that evening and asked for a masseuse.[17] After his massage, Perez instructed his driver and assistant to bring the masseuse home, upon which he began feeding the carp in his koi pond behind the town hall and taking a stroll in an open area with one civilian guard present. During his stroll, Perez was shot in the head by an unseen gunman, with two more shots in the chest and one graze wound on his right shoulder.[17] The guard took him to the HealthServ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m.[17][19]

On December 4, 2020, the Los Baños municipal council issued a resolution declaring a state of mourning in Los Baños up to December 12.[20] On the same day, the Department of Justice instructed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the assassination and submit periodic updates on their progress.[21] Media reports regarding the assassination regularly pointed out that Perez was mentioned during President Rodrigo Duterte's reading of a list of "narco-politicians" who are allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade, which Perez's son Aldous believes had been the reason for his assassination.[22][23] A month prior to his assassination, Perez went to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to be tested for drugs to prove his innocence.[24]

In early May 2021, a Laguna police task force issued a murder complaint against former councilor Norvin L. Tamisin and government official Glenn Arieta based on eyewitness accounts of the incident. Tamisin had continuously denied his involvement in the assassination in interviews, expressing his bafflement on how he was placed by eyewitnesses in the crime scene.[25][26] On October 22, the Los Baños Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 107 issued an arrest warrant for murder against Tamisin, and by November 2, Tamisin was captured in Baguio City by a joint team of Batangas police and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) as the sixth most wanted person in Region IV-A.[27] Tamisin later testified before Congress that he left Los Baños in order to protect his family from potential harm by the police and not to go into hiding.[12] After his capture, he spent the next seven months in jail, and by mid-2022 was allowed by the RTC to post bail.[12]

In October 2024, Tamisin was invited to testify before a congressional inquiry into extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration, where he asserted that he was framed by the police through the use of a "bogus" witness to place him in the crime scene.[28][12] Tamisin also confirmed in the hearing that surveillance footage taken in Los Baños a few days prior to Perez's murder featured a man he considers to have a strong resemblance to Cebu City police captain Keneth Paul Albotra, a person previously cited in the hearing as being involved in Tanauan, Batangas mayor Antonio Halili's assassination, whom Tamisin believes to be involved in the assassination of Perez.[12][13][29]

Funeral

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Perez's remains laid at his residence in the days after the assassination. On December 8, they were brought to a funeral car for a five-hour procession through all 14 barangays in Los Baños before reaching the municipal hall at 2:15 p.m. to be laid in state for four days.[30] On December 12, Perez was buried at a cemetery.[31]

References

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  1. ^ a b Fernandez, Rudy A. (May 16, 2010). "Los Baños election winners proclaimed". Philstar.com. Los Baños, Laguna: Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Perez is new Los Baños mayor". Los Baños Times. May 16, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Alviola, Derek (May 7, 2013). "Allies turned rivals: Los Baños politics heats up". Rappler. Los Baños, Laguna: Rappler Inc. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  4. ^ Amit, Andrea; Delfin, Migi; Domingo, Emman (May 17, 2019). "Proklamasyon ng mga nanalong opisyal sa Los Baños, isinagawa". Los Baños Times (in Filipino). Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "los baÑos - laguna - Eleksyon2016". GMA News Online. GMA Network. May 18, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Philippine News Agency (December 7, 2020). "Son of slain Los Banos mayor pleads with Duterte for justice". Manila Bulletin. Los Baños, Laguna: Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  7. ^ Ramos, Marlon (May 15, 2003). "Los Baños folk go back to brown rice". Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. p. A16. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  8. ^ Madlangbayan, GT (March 2015). "Mayor Perez shares leadership journey". CPAf Updates. 16 (3). College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Jungco, Kezia Grace (July 1, 2013). "Perez takes oath as new mayor of Los Baños". Los Baños Times. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Never say die! Los Banos mayoralty candidate Norvin Tamisin's supporters won't stop putting up his posters". Politiko. MCD Multimedia Corporation. April 23, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  11. ^ ABS-CBN News (November 4, 2021). "Prime suspect in murder of Los Baños mayor Caesar Perez arrested". ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e Abanto, Rowegie (October 22, 2024). "'Malaki ang nasira sa 'kin': Ex-councilor details misery after being tagged in slay of Los Baños mayor". ABS-CBN News. Manila: ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Mogato, Manny (October 25, 2024). "Lives lost, lives shattered". News 5. TV5 Network. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  14. ^ Lina, Joey D. (December 16, 2020). "Mayor Caesar Perez was an excellent public servant". Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  15. ^ Garcia, John Philip D. (2022). "Factors Shaping Policy Adoption on Single-Use Plastic Bag Regulation in Philippine Cities and Municipalities". Philippine Journal of Public Administration. 66: 2.
  16. ^ Punongbayan, Michael (July 18, 2005). "Wastes dumped in Los Baños forest reserve". Philstar.com. Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d Baraoidan, Kimmy; Cinco, Maricar (December 5, 2020). "Shock, rage in Los Baños over mayor's slay". Inquirer News. Los Baños, Laguna: INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  18. ^ Mallari Jr., Delfin T.; Quitasol, Kimberlie (November 5, 2021). "Suspect in Laguna mayor slay nabbed". Inquirer News. Baguio City: INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  19. ^ Cinco, Maricar (December 3, 2020). "Los Baños mayor shot inside municipal hall, dies in hospital". Inquirer News. San Pedro City, Laguna: INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  20. ^ Aguilon, Erwin (December 4, 2020). "December 4 hanggang 12 idineklarang state of mourning sa Los Baños, Laguna". Radyo Inquirer 990 AM (in Filipino). INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  21. ^ LBG (December 5, 2020). "DOJ directs NBI to investigate Los Baños mayor slay". GMA News Online. GMA Network Inc. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  22. ^ Ranada, Pia (December 8, 2020). "Duterte distances himself from his 'narco-politicians' list after Los Baños mayor killing". Rappler. Rappler Inc. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  23. ^ Saldajeno, Ivan Stewart (December 6, 2020). "Slain Laguna town mayor's son pleads with Duterte for justice". Los Baños, Laguna. PNA. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  24. ^ DVM (December 6, 2024). "Mayor Perez held office in the open despite threats –Los Baños exec". GMA News Online. GMA Network Inc. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  25. ^ Amoroso, Ed (May 5, 2021). "Ex-councilor charged in Los Baños mayor's slay". Philstar.com. Laguna, Philippines: Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  26. ^ Cinco, Maricar (May 6, 2021). "2 ex-Laguna execs face raps over mayor's slay". Inquirer News. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  27. ^ Amoroso, Ed (November 4, 2021). "Ex-councilor tagged in Los Baños mayor's slay nabbed". Philstar.com. Camp Vicente Lim, Laguna: Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  28. ^ Cervantes, Filane Mikee (October 22, 2024). "House panel cites cop tagged in Batangas mayor's killing for contempt". Manila. PNA. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  29. ^ Mogato, Manny (October 27, 2024). "A dangerous pattern of assignments". News 5. TV5 Network. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  30. ^ Saldajeno, Ivan Stewart (December 8, 2020). "Los Baños residents mourn death of mayor Perez". PNA. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  31. ^ ABS-CBN News (December 12, 2020). "Slain Los Baños mayor Caesar Perez laid to rest, as family calls for justice". ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
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