Abra capital Mayoral bet slaps 3 town employees

April 14, 2019 Provincial

Bangued, Abra – Momentary tension rose in this capital town when Bangued mayoral bet Ryan Seares-Luna allegedly slapped three town employees at a supposed voters’ education seminar in barangay Bangbanagar, Monday afternoon.

Drexell Festejo Bermudez, 40; Rolly Benosa Bernardez, 46 and Jayrone Berra Bello, 32, complained that Luna arrived at an alleged voters’ education seminar at the house of Bangbanagar Barangay chairman Loreto Laureta, and slapped them.

Police claimed that Luna also took the sling bag of Bello containing his Asus cellular phone and left the area. Luna of PDP-Laban, a former Bangued Mayor and cousin of gubernatorial bet and Dolores town mayor Robert Victor Seares Jr., is running against incumbent Bangued Mayor Dominic Valera of the National Unity Party-Asenso, father of Governor Ma. Jocelyn Bernos.

The mayoral bet is a son of former Rep. Cecilia Seares-Luna and brother of Derdrei Roce Luna-Ifurung, who is running against incumbent Abra lawmaker Joseph Sto. Niño Bernos, brother-in-law of Governor Bernos.

Former Mayor Ryan Luna is also the younger brother of suspended Lagayan mayor Jendricks Luna, whose Sangunniang Panlalawigan’s 6- month suspension with his wife, vice mayor Chrisma Joy, for dishonesty and grave abuse of authority over an unimplemented over P1million road project, was sustained by Malacañang two weeks ago.

Another member of the Seares-Luna clan, Victoria Seares Corpus, Mayor Seares Jr.’s aunt is running as an independent against Representative Bernos.

The youngest Luna, who remains indisposed, went into hiding before the 2013 elections after he was ordered arrested in connection with the killing of a political rival in 2007. He also ran but lost in the vice-gubernatorial race in 2016.

ABN/Artemio A. Dumlao