PCG station commander shot dead by unidentified gunman

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine Coast Guard station commander was shot and killed while inside his vehicle in Ipil town, Zamboanga Sibugay, on Thursday night, January 16.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Glennick Ytang, 32, commander of the Philippine Coast Guard Ipil Substation under Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao, was attacked by an unidentified gunman in Barangay Veterans Village, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said in a statement Friday, January 17.

Initial investigation showed that Ytang had just boarded his white pickup truck parked along a busy street in Purok Sentro after stopping at a roadside coffee shop when a man approached and shot him repeatedly before fleeing the scene.

Ytang sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died instantly, authorities said, adding that police investigators recovered six empty shell casings from a pistol at the crime scene.

Witnesses told investigators that two other men were seen acting as lookouts from a distance while the gunman carried out the attack.

Col. Barnard Danie Dasugo, Zamboanga Sibugay provincial police director, said the assailant escaped immediately, prompting an extensive manhunt by personnel of the Ipil Municipal Police Station and intelligence operatives from the provincial police force.

Lt. Gen. Donald Gumiran, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said Army intelligence units in Zamboanga Sibugay have been directed to assist police in identifying and tracking down Ytang’s killer.

Ytang, who commanded Coast Guard Station Zamboanga Sibugay, was a member of Coast Guard Officers' Course Class 26-2020 “Hiraya Masiklab.”

The PCG said it is coordinating closely with the Philippine National Police in the investigation.

“The investigation of the PCG is still ongoing,” PCG spokesperson Noemi Cayabyab said.

Authorities have yet to identify a suspect or establish a motive for the killing, as police investigators and municipal officials have sought security camera footage from nearby establishments to help solve the case.