Kin of slain ex-mayor 'saddened' by murder of Ateneo shooter's father
MANILA, Philippines — The family of slain ex-Lamitan mayor Rosie Furigay said they were "shocked and saddened" by the killing of Rolando Yumol, the father of Chao Tiao-Yumol who was behind the Ateneo shooting that claimed three lives including Furigay.
Speaking in an interview aired over ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo, lawyer Quirino Esguerra who represents the Furigay family, said it was "unfair" for social media users to link the family to the murder.
"We were shocked and the family is saddened by the incident. The family's wish is that the PNP would conduct a thorough investigation to determine who is responsible in this incident," he said in Filipino.
According to the Philippine National Police, the elder Yumol was shot four times by two unidentified suspects onboard a motorcycle while he was outside his residence. He died on the spot.
This comes five days after the younger Yumol on Sunday afternoon infiltrated the graduation of the Ateneo Law School shot dead former mayor Rosita Furigay of Lamitan City; her aide, Victor Capistrano, and Ateneo security guard Jeneven Bandiala. Hannnah Furigay, the late former mayor's daughter, is also still recovering from her injuries.
Culture of violence
In a separate statement sent to reporters, Rep. Mujiv Hataman (Basilan) condemned the killing, urging the public not to contribute to what he said was the culture of violence.
The island-province of Basilan has long had a history of politically-motivated violence. Yumol was reportedly a staunch critic of the Furigay family and has been slapped with cyber libel raps for a series of Facebook posts maligning them.
"I would like to emphasize, at any time and for any reason, there is no sense in taking life. Any kind of violence has no place in our society if we want to develop and get rid of the image of chaos in our province," he said in mixed Filipino and English.
"It is our hope that this latest act of violence would not progress into a series of violent actions. Let's not allow taking lives to become normal in our culture, especially when innocent citizens are affected...it is not who we are as Basileños, as Filipinos and as human beings."
Hataman also appealed to the public not to fuel any speculations on the perpetrators of the killing.
"Everyone is still mourning. Unfounded speculation and accusations will not help, and may even fuel further violence...Let's not let the mistakes of others cause us to be buried again in the suffering of taking the lives of innocent people."
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