TACLOBAN City – A police officer and a soldier were shot dead by suspected members of the New People’s Army in separate incidents in Quinapondan, Eastern Samar.
Police Brig. Gen. Dionardo Carlos, Eastern Visayas police director, on Monday identified the police officer as Patrolman Michael Felipe Ribo, single, assigned as an intelligence operative of the 2nd Eastern Samar Provincial Mobile Force Company (ESPMFC). He was waylaid in Barangay Buenavista.
The soldier was identified as Arnel Lim-it of the 52nd Infantry Battalion who was killed in Barangay Bagte.
Investigation showed that the twin shootings were related and perpetrated by three unidentified men.
Ribo was tasked to gather information for the possible identification of the suspects, but he was blocked by the armed men, and was shot using undetermined caliber of firearms.
The victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds on different parts of his body, which resulted to his instantaneous death.
The retrieval operation of the victim’s body also took a while because of an information that some members of the NPA were still at the crime scene and were preparing to ambush the responding personnel.
Carlos vowed to run after the assailants. “We will do our best to capture the suspects in order to attain justice for our comrade.” (Marie Tonette Marticio)