Gingoog mayor’s drivers slain in NPA ambush buried

MANILA, Philippines - The two drivers of Gingoog City Mayor Ruthie Guingona who were killed in an ambush by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels last April 20 were buried yesterday with their widows and orphaned children crying for justice.

“We could not just accept an apology from the NPAs. We want justice,” declared 44-year-old Christy Velasco, widow of the late Bartolome Velasco, at the funeral for her husband and that of her slain brother-in-law, Nestor.

The Velasco brothers were killed when their pick-up truck that was also carrying Mayor Guingona, wife of former vice president Teofisto Guingona and mother of Sen. Teofisto III, was ambushed by communist guerrillas at Sitio Ditio Domayokdok, Barangay Binakalan in the outskirts of Gingoog.

The mayor, her police escort Senior Police Officer 2 Bonifacio Amper and civilian Leo Cante were wounded in the ambush.

The group had just attended the fiesta at Barangay Alagatan when about 50 rebels ambushed their vehicle at about 11:40 p.m.

Amper, who prevented the rebels from abducting the mayor, is likely to be recommended to receive the Medal of Valor.

The Velasco brothers were laid to rest side by side at the Gingoog Public Cemetery after mass at the city cathedral.

Bartolome Velasco left behind his wife and three children while his brother has five daughters and wife Josephine, who as of yesterday was still in a state of shock.

“Hustisya para kay (Justice for) Nestor at Bartolome,” read a streamer calling for justice for the brothers, during the funeral march to Gingoog City Cathedral.

Brig. Gen. Rolando Jungco, Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) commander, visited the victims’ families and said that aside from asking for justice, the two widows also expressed concern on how they would raise their children in the absence of their husbands.

“Seeking remorse is not enough for the victims’ relatives who are now crying for justice in Gingoog,” Jungco said.

Despite the odds, the wounded SPO2 Amper stayed with the wounded Guingona until the arrival of police and military reinforcement almost four hours after the ambush.

Amper, armed with a .45 caliber pistol and M16 rifle, confused the numerically superior rebels by firing from both sides of their already disabled vehicle to prevent the guerrillas from getting near them.

“From the left side, he would fire his cal.45 pistol against the advancing NPAs out to abduct Mayor Guingona. He also prevented the NPAs from approaching... by firing his M16 rifle at the other end of the car,” Jungco said.

At one point during the assault, the rebels, thinking that Amper was not alone in holding off their advance, used a flashlight attached to a long bamboo pole to locate his exact position, Jungco said.

Knowing that the security of the mayor could be compromised once their position was spotted, Amper shot the bamboo pole and the rebel who was holding it.

Amper not only beat back the superior rebel force until the arrival of reinforcement units, he also killed a certain Jimboy Lutawan, reportedly the younger brother of an NPA commander based in Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental.

Sen. Guingona remain unconvinced by the claim of the NPA that the rebels did not intend to harm his mother.

“Let’s be clear about it – the intent was to kill. This is not just one bang. They waited. Every time there was movement in the vehicle, because my mother was looking for her cellphone, every time she was groping around and the vehicle moved, they would rake the vehicle with gunfire again,” Guingona said in a television interview.

He said his mother had to play dead inside the vehicle for several hours after the ambush.

Guingona said his family needs more time to respond to the apology of the NPA. 

Meanwhile, Team PNoy senatorial candidate and Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara urged political candidates to renounce all forms of violence, ranging from killings to cyber bullying, as the May 13 elections draw closer.

He said candidates and political leaders should work to bring peace, stability and hope to regions too often paralyzed by fear, hatred and violence.

“Killings would achieve nothing. Venomous words would inflate passions. Cyber bullying is a web-based form of harming candidates or people involved in the current electoral cycle,” Angara said.

The lawmaker issued the statement after the outbreak of violence in Cavite and Lanao del Norte that killed over a dozen people and injured several others. – With Paolo Romero