2 dead, 2 hurt in Ilocos, Kalinga attacks

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines  â€“ Two persons were killed while a businessman and his cousin were wounded in two separate attacks by motorcycle-riding men in Ilocos Norte and Kalinga Sunday.

William Benavidez, 29, and Antonino Baltazar, 28, both of Nueva Era town, were on a motorcycle when gunmen on another motorcycle shot at them as they were traveling in Barangay Daqioag, in Marcos town, said Chief Inspector Dexter Corpuz, chief of the municipal police.

The victims were declared dead on arrival at a hospital.

In Kalinga, Aldrin Patti, 32, was wounded when motorcycle-riding men strafed the house of his cousin, Agustin Mendoza, on Dangwa street, Tabuk City.

The attack was reportedly a followup to Saturday’s ambush that left Mendoza wounded. The gunmen were reportedly irked upon learning that Mendoza survived the attack, said Senior Superintendent Victor Wanchakan, Kalinga police director.

Patti was rushed to the hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound while Mendoza was recuperating from a gunshot to the chest as of press time. Investigators have yet to determine the motive for the twin attacks.