FIVE people, including a village official, were killed while one was injured in an ambush in Pagadian City, the capital of Zamboanga del Sur, the police reported on Wednesday, September 14.
Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula (Western Mindanao) spokesman Rogelio Alabata, said the incident took place around 7:30 a.m., Tuesday, September 13, at Purok Dumalian in the village of Lourdes, Pagadian City.
Alabata identified the fatalities as the following: Marianita Pitogo, 36, village chief of Lison Valley, Renato Malantig, 40, Pitogo’s common-law husband, Rosalinda Enodio, 38, Rosalita Cagas, 38, and Rowell Edoquio, 36.
Wounded was Susan Hunis. She was rushed to the hospital by a motorcycle-for-hire known as “habal-habal” that passed by the ambush site.
Investigation showed the victims were aboard a jeep driven by Malantig on the way to attend the “Megayon Festival” in downtown Pagadian City coming from the village of Lison Valley.
The unidentified gunmen ambushed them when they were passing through a curved and muddy road along Purok Dumalian in the village of Lourdes killing five of the victims on the spot.
All possible motives that could lead to the identity and arrest of the suspects are being considered in the conduct of an in-depth investigation over the incident.
Recovered from the ambush site were nine empty shells of caliber 5.56 rifle and seven spent shells of caliber .30 rifle.
The Megayon Festival is a week-long gathering held from September 11 to 17 to celebrate the unity among the three settlers that contributed to the founding of Zamboanga del Sur: the Subanons (or Subanens), the Muslims, and the local settlers.
Megayon is a Subanen word for “unity.”
