Samson Mondia yesterday stressed that he had nothing to do with the ambush staged against mayor-elect Magdaleno Peña and denied allegations that drugs pass through the Pulupandan port, which his family runs.

Mondia, who ran against Peña for mayor of Pulupandan, also denied the allegation that he was in the get-away vehicle of the men who staged the ambush against Peña Wednesday. "I am not stupid," he said.

Since Peña claims to be the better tactician, for all we know the attack Wednesday could be an "ambush me" tactic of his to gain public sympathy and pin the blame on others, Mondia said.

Mondia said that in 1992, Peña filed murder cases against him that were eventually dismissed by the court, as well as trumped-up charges against Brig Gen. Raymundo Jarque for which that he was eventually cleared.

Peña is an expert at filing trumped-up cases, Mondia said.

Mondia said it is not within his capability to have people killed and he has no motive for killing Peña.

Peña won the election and if he is killed, the vice mayor is his brother-in-law Tony Suatengco, who would assume the mayorship, Mondia pointed out.

Mondia called on authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the real people behind the ambush so that innocent people will not be framed to take the fall.

If there was a motive for linking me to his ambush, it would have been before the election because it would have meant that he would have been eliminated as a political opponent for the mayorship, Mondia said.

Mondia said he was told that the people who staged the ambush were in their 20s.

Aside from an "ambush me" angle, the attack could also have been staged by rebels, he said.

"A thorough investigation of the ambush is needed," Mondia said.*CPG

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