Naga Mayor Denies Drug Suspect his Bodyguard

City of Naga Mayor Valdemar Chiong denied that the suspect the National Bureau of Investigation 7 (NBI) arrested for illegal drugs was his bodyguard.

“Wa ko’y giingun nga bodyguard. Lumalaban ra na sila nato. Pero wa koy bodyguard nga naay armas,” said Chiong.

Chiong’s statement came after a local tabloid reported that Ricardo Cantillas, a job order worker at the Naga City Hall, was Chiong’s close-in bodyguard. The mayor said he is not someone who tags along a bodyguard, much more an armed one.

Chiong, however, admitted that the suspect was among those individuals who tagged along with them during last year’s campaign period, but he has not come to the point of hiring the man to be his personal bodyguard. “I don’t need a bodyguard. I don’t feel threatened, so what’s the use of having a bodyguard,” the mayor said.

The mayor said he is aware of Cantillas’ previous murder case, where he was jailed and later on released, but he wanted to give him a second chance.

“Everybody deserves a second chance. I believe in giving a second chance to individual,” he said. But with this development, Chiong said Cantillas must face the consequences for his actions.