KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/11 October) – Two motorists were killed and another was wounded while some P50 thousand in cash was snatched from a trader in three separate robbery incidents along the highway in North Cotabato since Saturday, reports from the Cotabato Provincial Police Office said.
In Midsayap town, 26-year-old data encoder Edward Harasan of Poblacion Uno was stabbed several times when he wrestled with at least three motorcycle thieves who flagged him down along the highway in Villarica Village, around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The victim’s throat was also slit, instantly killing him, reports from the Midsayap police said.
After killing Harasan, the suspects headed towards the interior portion of the Villarica Village using the victim’s motorcycle as getaway vehicle.
In nearby Carmen town, armed men flagged down a motorcycle with three people on board and shot the driver identified as Orlando Faranal, 38, and his wife Maria Cristina, 25.
Orlando died on the spot while Cristina was rushed to a nearby hospital in Kabacan town due to gunshot wounds on her back.
Another passenger identified as Divine Grace Pugales was able to run and seek cover in a house nearby while the couple was being attacked.
The attackers escaped using the couple’s black Honda XRM 125 motorcycle after they shot the victims.
In Kidapawan City, unidentified thieves snatched from the house of Antonio Ripamonte, 45, his brand new red Honda XRM 125 motorcycle, around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Ripamonte, a member of the Civil Security Unit of the city government, was surprised to see his motorcycle gone when he woke up on Saturday.
Also in Carmen town, a group of armed men flagged down a ‘habal-habal‘ (passenger motorcycle) and snatched cash from a trader identified as Manaut Dabua of Barangay Nasapian, around 1130 a.m. today.
Police suspected those responsible for the series of motorcycle theft incidents in North Cotabato belong to one group.
They, however, refused to identify the group pending the results of their investigation. (Malu Cadelina Manar/MindaNews)
