SAN FERNANDO, La Union, Philippines — A police official was killed in a gun attack in Barangay Libertad in Abulug, Cagayan on Monday night.
Maj. Rafael Tangonan, a resident of Ballesteros town, was in his Toyota Hilux when unidentified men in a Toyota Innova opened fire.
Responding policemen said the victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene.
Meanwhile, in Basilan, four persons were killed and another was wounded in a shooting in Lamitan before dawn yesterday.
Gappal Pagi and Ardayan Amoto, 16, and the two other fatalities identified only as being residents of Ungkaya Pukan town died at the scene, Col. Richard Verceles, operations chief of Area Police Command-Western Mindanao, said.
Muafiz Tamudjul, 18, was wounded.
Lamitan police chief Lt. Col. Arlan Delumpines and personnel of the Basilan Provincial Mobile Force Company led by Lt. Col. John Cundo, who responded to the crime scene, said the attackers escaped.
The victims had attended a wedding in Lamitan and decided to spend the night there when the incident occurred.
Sixteen bullet shells for a caliber 5.56 mm rifle, an M16 and a magazine with ammunition were recovered at the scene.
In Nueva Ecija, Eugenia de la Cruz, 65, was on her three-wheel electric bike when she was shot in Barangay Malinao in Gabaldon.
Investigations into the killings are ongoing. – Artemio Dumlao, Roel Pareño, John Unson, Ric Sapnu