Senator Bam Aquino expressed concern over the growing culture of violence under the present administration, maintaining that we should not grow numb to all the killings.

“Taos-puso tayong nakikiramay sa mga mahal sa buhay ni Mayor Bote at sa buong bayan ng General Tinio sa Nueva Ecija,” said Sen. Bam, referring to Mayor Ferdinand Bote, who was gunned down in front of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) office in Cabanatuan City on Tuesday.

“Sa bawat Pilipinong pinapatay mayor man yan, pari o tambay, inuusig ang konsensya natin bilang isang bansa,” stressed Sen. Bam, even as he called on the Filipinos to stand up against violence and senseless killings.

“Hindi na tayo natuto. Patayan at pagdurusa lang ang idudulot ng karahasan,” urged Sen. Bam.

Bote was the second local official who was killed in a span of two days. On Monday, Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili was gunned down by an alleged sniper while attending the city hall’s flag-raising ceremony.

Earlier, Sen. Bam submitted Senate Resolution 765 calling for an investigation on the killings of priests Richmond Nilo, Mark Ventura, and Father Marcelito Paez, and attacks against other religious leaders of the country.

“A public hearing can be a venue for us to evaluate the festering culture of violence in our country. Hanapan natin ng solusyon ito dahil nakakabahala na ang tumitinding karahasan sa ating lipunan,” said Sen. Bam.

“Kaliwa’t kanan ang patayan kahit sa harap ng maraming tao. Wala nang pinipili ang nagiging biktima – opisyal ng gobyerno, pari, tambay. Wala nang ligtas kahit saan, kahit sino,” the senator added.