KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 8 Dec) – Two motorists headed to a village in Matalam, North Cotabato to attend a patronal fiesta were killed and another was wounded when shot by still unidentified suspects on Friday, a police official said.
Chief Insp. Sunny Leoncito, Matalam police chief, hinted that the perpetrators were after the motorcycle as they brought it with them.
The police chief identified the victims as Jerome Francisco and Danilo Montero, both residents of Barangay Salvacion, Matalam.
Their companion, identified as Bimbo Ereje, also a resident of Barangay Salvacion, sustained injuries in different parts of his body but survived, Leoncito said. He is now being treated at the Cotabato Provincial Hospital at Amas Complex, this city.
Leoncito said the victims were on their way to attend a patronal fiesta of the Immaculate Conception at Barangay Kibudoc, also in Matalam, when waylaid by the suspects.
Francisco, who was driving the motorcycle, was hit first, reports said. When he plunged on a cliff, along with the two others, the suspects continued firing at them. Montero also died on the spot but Ereje played dead and was later rescued by bystanders, reports added.
After snatching the motorcycle, the suspects fled afterwards and sped towards the interior portion of Barangay Kibudoc, police said. (Malu Cadelina Manar / MindaNews)
