DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 16 February) – Two suspects in the ambush of a government doctor early this month in Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur surrendered on Thursday afternoon, police said.
Col Ruel Sermese, police provincial director of Maguindanao del Sur said the suspects, who were not named, surrendered to the Buluan town police.
On Feb. 3, three motorcycle-riding men tried to stop Dr. Sharmaine Ceballos Baroquillo in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur while she was driving her car to her workplace, the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Hospital in Isulan town.
“The victim was driving her car along Datu Paglas highway from Davao City when she sensed a riding-in-tandem was following her then followed by three gunshots coming from the window side of the vehicle using caliber .45 pistol,” 1Lt. Cemafranco Cemacio, chief of police of Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur, said last Feb. 4.
Cemacio said that despite a wounded shoulder, she managed to drive to the nearest hospital but lost consciousness and rammed into a tricycle with a family of passengers in Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur. He said Baroquillo’s car also rammed into a house, damaging parts of it.
He said the passengers of the tricycle were also rushed to the hospital.
“They (suspects) voluntarily surrendered and confessed that they just wanted to rob the physician,” Sermese said in a phone interview.
“The suspects revealed that when they saw the lady doctor was alone, they took advantage of the situation,” he said, adding a third suspect is still at large.
Oliver Baroquillo, the victim’s father, said in a Facebook post that her daughter sustained injuries in her left shoulder, lower back, and spinal cord.
“It pains us to see her suffering and experience the world’s cruelty when as parents, we only wanted her to reach her dreams and significantly contribute to society. We have endured sacrifices working abroad to support her and prepare for her future. But now, we ask ourselves, what does the future entail when selfish and evil strangers violently attempt to steal what we collectively prepared for her?” Oliver Baroquillo lamented.
Baroquillo, 27, is a resident of Polomolok, South Cotabato. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera/MindaNews)