Statement of former Mayor Douglas Soriano
San Carlos City, Pangasinan30 April 2007

MY family and I are deeply saddened by the death of Mayor Julian Resuello. We are shocked that violence such as this could still happen in our midst despite everybody’s effort to maintain peace and order in our city amidst our preparations for the coming elections.
I wish to express our deepest sympathy with the family of Mayor Resuello and the other victims. I call on everyone, especially our supporters, to join me and my family in praying for the speedy resolution of this case.
I consider this incident an assault on our democratic system. Violence has no place in a civilized society, much less during an electoral campaign and when the victims include an official of our city government. I hope that the authorities will move quickly to ensure the safety of everyone, especially the ordinary citizens.
The Soriano family and our supporters will continue to work for the conduct of honest, orderly and peaceful elections on May 14 as we have been advocating since the start of the electoral campaign. We supported and signed the covenant for honest, orderly and peaceful elections (HOPE) because we believe that the people of Pangasinan, especially San Carlos City, are peace loving people.
We urge our authorities to ensure speedy investigation of this incident. Justice must be meted out to reconfirm our citizenry’s trust in our law enforcement system.
Thank you.