Two men waylaid in Malabuyoc

CEBU, Philippines - Two men met their untimely death after they were ambushed by unidentified men while on board a motorcycle last Sunday evening in Barangay Poblacion I, Malabuyoc town.

The motorcycle’s driver, Ricardo Sabac, 55, succumbed to a gunshot wound on his chin. The bullet exited through his neck. The man riding in pillion, Augustine Gonzalgo, 60, a former security guard, suffered multiple gunshot wounds on his body.

Residents in the area rushed the two to the Mariano Jesus Cuenco Memorial Hospital, but they were declared dead on arrival.

Senior Insp. Amadeo Roldan Pepito, chief of the Malabuyoc Police, said Sabac and Gonzalgo were traveling towards Barangay Armeña from Barangay Poblacion on board a Honda XRM 125 motorcycle. They were waylaid at a dimly lit portion of the road.

The assailants reportedly fled towards the direction of mountain barangays Boljoon and Lacoy. Police conducted a hot pursuit operation and even installed road blocks but failed to arrest the suspects. The mountainous sitio of Iyakan where the incident happened is about two kilometers away from Barangay Poblacion proper, which made it difficult for the police to conduct follow up investigation.

“Bukid na kaayo wala pa gyu’y suga,” Pepito said, adding, they were only using their vehicles’ headlights and flashlights when they responded to the incident. They only recovered a deformed slug of an unknown firearm from the crime scene.

He said they also had difficulty in getting information from the residents in the area because no one wanted to cooperate. “Tak-om ra ang mga tao, dili ganahan mokooperar,” Pepito said.

SPO3 Ariel Mascardo, Malabuyoc police investigator, said a background check on the two victims is in order. One of the angles they are pursuing is Gonzalgo’s involvement in cara y cruz or “hantak”.

“Bangkero man gud ni siya sa hantak gikan sa Badian paingon sa Santander,” Mascardo said.   - (THE FREEMAN)