News Roundup 27 July 2022
Jul 27, 2022 • 5 min Read
4 dead, 60 injured in strong Abra quake |PHILSTAR.COM – The magnitude-7.0 quake that hit Abra on Wednesday morning has left four dead and 60 others injured, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said in a press briefing at Malacañang. Of the four deaths, two of them were recorded in Benguet, one in Abra and one in Mountain Province, Abalos said. Upon clarification by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Abalos said the four died in landslides. Earlier, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that it is verifying the reported death of a construction worker who got trapped under fallen debris in La Trinidad, Benguet, although the office of Rep. Eric Go Yap sent reporters photos of the incident, saying the death was confirmed. Citing data from local officials, police and fire units, Abalos reported that the quake caused road closures in some parts of Abra, power interruptions in Abra and Benguet, intermittent communications in Region 1 and landslides in parts of the Cordillera Administrative Region. CAR, where Abra is located, was hit badly as 29 municipal roads were damaged, as well as three bridges in Abra, and 137 public and private buildings. In the Ilocos Region, damages have been reported in Ilocos Sur but the council assured the public that there was no tsunami threat.
Galvez mourns killing of ‘peace process ally’ ex-Mayor Furigay | PHILSTAR.COM – Secretary Carlito Galvez, the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, has joined voices mourning the passing of former Lamitan, Basilan mayor Rose Furigay, among the casualties in the tragic Ateneo shooting over the weekend. The attack happened before the graduation of the Ateneo Law School in the university’s Katipunan Avenue campus, claiming the lives of Furigay’s staff member and a security guard and injuring three more, including Furigay’s daughter who was supposed to graduate that day. In a statement, Galvez condemned “in the strongest terms” the murder of the former mayor as he recalled Furigay’s track record in development efforts in Lamitan City. “She will always be remembered…the peace process has lost a strong ally especially in the island province of Basilan. Mayor Rose is known for her integrity and credibility on good governance, that is why it is impossible to believe in these allegations and innuendos thrown against the late mayor and her family,” Galvez said. “I have known the former mayor for more than a decade…I have witnessed how the former mayor spearheaded change [and] her initiatives fostered interfaith dialogue, respect and mutual understanding among the tri-people in the city.” To recall, the shooter, one Chao Tiao Yumul surrendered to police over 26 counts of cyber libel in 2019 over Facebook posts he wrote maligning the mayor and her family. The Furigays were said to be behind the libel complaints after a long history of conflict between the two parties. Galvez said that Furigay was “instrumental” in implementing programs and projects that “transformed Lamitan from a once conflict-ridden area, into a showcase of economic progress and development.” “I am deeply saddened and angered by this brazen act of violence…our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ familiers. We also pray for the fast recovery of the former mayor’s daughter,” Galvez also said. “The culture of violence has once again reared its ugly head. We must not allow such incidents to happen. Violence has no place in a peaceful and democratic society, as we move towards our collective goal of achieving a just and lasting peace throughout the country.”
Raps filed vs Yumol; 1 gun traced to Army officer | INQUIRER.NET – The police have filed a criminal complaint of multiple murder and frustrated murder against the alleged assassin of former Lamitan City Mayor Rosita Furigay who was killed at the Ateneo de Manila University. The complaint filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) in the Quezon City prosecutor’s office on Monday night accused Chao Tiao Yumol, a 38-year-old doctor, of three counts of murder for killing Furigay, 58, her aide Victor Capistrano, 49, and Ateneo security guard Jeneven Bandiala, 35. Furigay’s daughter, 25-year-old Hannah Rose Marian Furigay, also was hit by a bullet fired by Yumol, for which the doctor faced a frustrated murder charge, according to the complaint. The police also reported that another victim was wounded, Julia Manabat, 54, the mother of another law school graduate. Police investigators said that Yumol attacked Furigay as she arrived on Sunday afternoon at the Ateneo campus in Quezon City to attend the graduation of her daughter from the Ateneo Law School. The Furigays were accompanied by Capistrano, a senior administrative assistant with the Lamitan city government. Apart from the three counts of murder and frustrated murder, the police also filed complaints of car theft and malicious mischief amounting to P80,000, on behalf of car owner Johnny Palma. According to a QCPD investigation report, Yumol boarded a Grab vehicle driven by Ronald Minor to enter the Ateneo campus at 3 p.m. on Sunday. To escape after the shooting, Yumol took Palma’s car, a yellow Honda Civic, at gunpoint, the police report said. A driver whom the police identified as Raffy Degones reported to the Anonas Police Station, which has jurisdiction over Ateneo, that a yellow Civic with gunshot holes was left by a man at a gasoline station along Aurora Boulevard. The man was seen trying to catch a ride on a tricycle but was not able to do so. He instead boarded a “mini modern bus jeep” bound for Cogeo, Rizal. The Anonas Police Station and the QCPD Tactical Motorcycle Riding Unit pursued the escaping suspect until they were able to stop the mini bus. Degones positively identified Yumol, who was promptly arrested, the QCPD reported.
