2 Coast Guard personnel killed in ambush in Cotabato City

COTABATO CITY — Two members of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) were killed in an ambush along a busy thoroughfare in Cotabato City on Thursday afternoon, October 22.

The fatalities were identified as PCG Ensign Reniel Agpalo and Ensign Louther Vitor.

They were riding in a maroon Toyota Innova with their superior, Lt. Commander John Paul Cabarrubias, when gunman attacked them along a stretch of the Roman Vilo Street.

The ambush site is located not far from the Cotabato City PCG Station.

The victims were on their way to their station when armed men opened fire on their vehicle, hitting Agpalo and Vitor in their upper torsos.

Officials of the Cotabato City Police Station 1 and local executives who responded to the incident told reporters that the assailants managed to flee amid the commotion triggered by the gunshots.

Agpalo and Vitor were both declared dead on arrival at the hospital where emergency responders brought them for treatment.

Cabarrubias, chief of the Cotabato City PCG Station, survived the attack without injury.

Police investigators and local officials are working to identify the perpetrators, who fled on motorcycles after the ambush.

Local executives said initial indications suggest the attack may have stemmed from a work-related involving one of the three PCG personnel targeted while traveling to their station.