BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The local Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) chief of Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental and her husband were declared dead on the spot after they were shot by riding-in-tandem suspects late Tuesday afternoon.
Police identified the fatalities as Dr. Mary Rose Sancelan, the IATF chief and City Health Officer of Guihulngan City, and her husband Edwin Sancelan.
Based on information from the Guihulngan City Police Station, the couple were on their way home on a motorcycle when two gunmen –also on a motorcycle – opened fire at them.
The Sancelans were instantly killed. They sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
Guihulngan City police has yet to determine the crime’s motive.
The Guihulngan City IATF described Dr. Sancelan as a courageous and dedicated frontliner instrumental in thwarting the spike in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the city last month.
Diocese of San Carlos’ Bishop Gerardo Alminaza condemned the ambush. He asked for prayers for the victims and their families, and for those responsible to be held accountable.
“This is too much. It is unacceptable to allow this to happen to public servants working hard to serve the public, especially during this pandemic,” Alminaza said.
Rights group Karapatan-Negros, meanwhile, released a statement accusing the anti-communist vigilante group Kawsa Guihulnganon Batok Komunista (Kagubak) as the one responsible for the murders.
Karapatan-Negros claimed the doctor was recently “red-tagged” and mistakenly identified as Ka JB Regalado, the spokesperson of the New People’s Army’s Leonardo Panaligan Command based in Central Negros./PN
