Lumad teacher survives another slay attempt by NPA

TALAINGOD, Davao del Norte, Philippines  – A teacher of a lumad daycare center that the New People’s Army (NPA) has reportedly long wanted dead survived another attempt on his life in this town on Tuesday night.

Joel Daunsay, 26, of Central Baugan, Barangay Palma Hill, cheated death when the guns of the assassins jammed when they tried to shoot him.

The assassins left in haste, failing to kill their target.

“Someone knocked on our door at around 9:30 p.m. When I opened it, two men were pointing guns to my head,” he told The STAR.

He said he managed to mutter “why” to his assassins. One of the gunmen answered him by pulling the trigger.

The gun did not go off, prompting the assassin to reload, but it failed to fire for the second time.

The second assassin, apparently a back up, shot Daunsay, but his gun also did not fire.

“The commotion attracted the attention of my neighbors, forcing the assassins to flee. I prevented my relatives from running after the armed men as it might only worsen the prevailing conflict in our community,” he said.