Vice President Sara Duterte and previous Vice President Leni Robredo denounced the tragic shooting at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City on Sunday of former Mayor Rose Furigay of Lamitan, Basilan, and two others.
In separate statements, Duterte and Robredo expressed their prayers and condolences to the families of those deceased.
Such violence, according to Duterte, has no place in our society, especially in a place of learning — which is meant to be regarded as a secure zone for everyone, especially students.
“The Philippine National Police is also strongly urged to address gun violence in the country — and consistent operations against illegal firearms could be one of the effective measures to do this,” DepEd chief Duterte added.
“That this happened in broad daylight, at an occasion which marks the culmination of the many years of hard work of the graduating law students … makes the incident more tragic,” the former vice president said.
“It reminds us to keep on pushing back on everything that promotes a culture of impunity,” she added.
The murdered mayor and her husband, Roderick Furigay, were ardent advocates of our Angat Buhay program in Lamitan, according to Robredo.
VP Duterte, Robredo condemn Ateneo shooting
The National Capital Region Police Office reported that Victor George Capistrano, the murdered mayor’s executive assistant, and an unidentified Ateneo security guard were also killed.
Despite a gun embargo in Metro Manila before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s first state of the nation speech, the suspect, 38-year-old general practitioner Chao Tiao Yumol, was able to smuggle weapons onto the Ateneo campus.
In a press conference this Sunday after the incident, Quezon City Police District Director Police Brigadier General Remus Medina said that the suspect in the shooting had been arrested.
Medina identified the suspect as Dr. Chao-Tiao Yumol, 38 years old, resident of Lamitan.
The victim, Furigay, appeared to have charged Yumol with 76 cyber libel cases.
According to Medina, Yumol did not say how long he had been in Metro Manila.
“Wala siyang address. Actually, tinatanong namin kung saan siya nakatira, saan siya nagtatago. Palipat-lipat siya, natutulog siya sa kalsada, sa sasakyan,” said Medina.
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