4 men hunted for Mindoro massacre

CALAPAN CITY, Philippines – Police are now hunting down four men behind last Sunday morning’s massacre of four members of a family in a remote area in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro. 

Senior Superintendent Ronaldo de Jesus, Oriental Mindoro police director, declined to name the four, saying though that two of them were positively identified.

The massacre is the first heinous crime in Oriental Mindoro since 2004 when Army soldiers gunned down eight people in what was dubbed as the “Victoria massacre.” 

In last Sunday’s incident, armed men who introduced themselves as agents of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, fired shots into the home of the Saulong family in Sitio Tubigan, Barangay Labonan in Bongabong town, killing four family members.

The fatalities were identified as Hector Barrientos Saulong, a 50-year-old farmer; his son Rick Rick, 25, a laborer; daughter Stephanie, 18; and her son, Bon-Bon, five.

Saulong’s wife Josephine, the lone survivor, has identified two of the attackers who she said barged into their home looking for her husband.

She said she was then taking a bath and witnessed the shooting, with one of the attackers shouting that her husband had an outstanding loan with a woman and that they were getting “payment” to get even.

The victims are said to be relatives of Angel Saulong, former provincial administrator and executive assistant of Oriental Mindoro Gov. Alfonso Umali Jr. 

Police recovered seven empty shells and four slugs from .45-caliber pistols at the crime scene.