Angry Magpet village chair attacks kagawad over NPA taxes

KIDAPAWAN CITY - A village council member in a remote village of Magpet, North Cotabato has accused his village chair for violently attacking him during council session.The attack happened after Village CouncilorBoy Mandamlay raised a question during session why it was always he who has been sent by the village council to Army seminar on communist revolutionary tax collection. Why always me, why not our chair and other members attend the seminar as well? Mandamlay asked the council duringsession. He got no answer but physical attack.Mandamlay believed he got the ire of Village Chair Melchor Lingaro after he said the village chair was providing revolutionary tax to New Peoples Army.As Lingaro denied Mandamlay accusations, he stood up, grabbed the councilman's clothes while two other village councilmen were holding both his hands.He said he has evidences to support his claim the village chair provides protection money to the NPAs.Mandamlay said the act of thevillage chair violates his rights as a person and as a member of the council. He is filing assault charges against the official.Mandamlay is also filing charges before the Department of Interior and Local Goverment (DILG) against Lingaro.