Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla has belied claims linking the death of Dueñas Vice Mayor Aimee Paz Lamasan to alleged flood control project anomalies, stressing that investigations have established that the slain official had no involvement in such projects.
Remulla said both local police and national investigators found no evidence connecting Lamasan to flood control contracts or implementation, dismissing circulating claims as speculative and unsupported by facts.
“She is not involved in flood control in any way. There is absolutely no link,” he said during a press briefing at the Iloilo International Airport, noting that infrastructure-related concerns fall under separate investigative mechanisms.
According to Remulla, flood control projects—often scrutinized due to their large budgets—are subject to their own audit and oversight processes, but dragging Lamasan’s name into these matters is misleading and unjustified.
Authorities have concluded that Lamasan’s death resulted from an accidental discharge of a firearm, a finding reinforced by the Philippine National Police and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
“It is fair to conclude that this was an accidental firing,” Remulla said in the briefing attended by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II.
The DILG secretary appealed to the public and political actors to separate legitimate concerns about flood control from the circumstances surrounding the vice mayor’s death, warning that unfounded narratives only fuel misinformation and cause further distress to the bereaved family.
Remulla attended the necrological service for Lamasan in Dueñas, Iloilo, accompanied by officials of the Police Regional Office (PRO-6), Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., and other local and national officials.IMT
