It was his 28th wedding anniversary. Most people would wish to celebrate such a richly satisfying event in the comfort of their homes in the bosom of their families, with perhaps a few close friends. Rep. Rodel Batocabe of partylist Ako Bicol chose to celebrate it by giving Christmas gifts to a group of persons with disabilities (PWD) and senior citizens at the local elementary school last Saturday.

At around 3 p.m., as he was about to board his vehicle after the gift-giving, he and his security escort SPO1 Orlando Diaz were shot dead by two men on a motorcycle, obviously gunmen for hire. It took place in broad daylight in the middle of a crowd, but the killers managed to get away

Killing by motorcycle tandem riders – is it really the new normal? This is not the first time a crime has been carried out by such men, their faces conveniently covered by mandatory helmets, thus able to escape so easily without being identified. This is an old police problem that has remained unsolved.

Has a culture of violence replaced dialogue as a means to settle disputes? In these last few years, so many officials – governors, mayors, heads of government offices – have been assassinated. Meanwhile, court cases against many officials have remained undecided for years. Could these two developments be related?

It was Congressman Batocabe’s third and final term as congressman and he was running for mayor of Daraga, Albay, in the midterm elections on May 13, 2019. The killing was one more addition to the growing number of candidates who have been killed. Will this be a bloody election?

Batocabe was the first sitting congressman to be killed and his killing has been condemned as an assault on the House of Representatives as an institution. Thus many congressmen contributed to a bounty offered for information leading to the arrest of the killers, now estimated at R30 million. Are there other respected institutions of the government – in the executive, legislative, and judicial departments – which should fear a similar assault?

Is the killing of Congressman Batocabe a sign of the “moral decay” in the country cited by Sen. Richard Gordon, part of the rise of negative elements that believe that “a culture of violence is the only way to change“? The killing of Batocabe particularly stands out as it took place in the middle of the nation’s celebration of the peace and joy of the Christmas season.

The immediate need is for quick police action to get to the bottom of this killing and make arrests. The unprecedented R30-million bounty offered by the members of Congress should help. But through all the police action, the many questions about Philippine society and politics should be studied by our officials and other leaders, questions relating to a seeming rise of a culture of violence and fears of an erosion of values and spread of moral decay.