COTABATO CITY: Officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) mourned the passing of former Lamitan City Mayor Rosita Rose Furigay (pic), who was killed inside Ateneo Campus in Quezon City along with two others.
“The former local chief executive will be remembered for leading Lamitan City to a more promising future – inspiring nearby towns and the whole Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM),” Chief Minister Ahod “Murad” Ebrahim said in a statement on Monday.
“During her time, Lamitan City became a hub of unbelievable progress, a home of intercultural understanding, and a beacon of hope in the region,” Ebrahim added.
Ebrahim said the regional government will be working with authorities to ensure that justice is served.
“This act of violence has no place in our country and our region. Lamitan City, we grieved with you during these tragic times,” he said.
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, BARMM interior and local government minister, also condemned the attack against Furigay.
“Mayor Furigay was one of the top performing mayors of the Bangsamoro region and a consistent SGLG (Seal of Good Local Governance) Awardee. We condole with her family and offer our prayers for the swift recovery of her daughter who was also injured in this incident,” Sinarimbo said.
Police arrested the primary suspect, Dr. Chao Tiao Yumol of Lamitan City. He admitted to the crime and said he did not regret what he did.
GMA News reported that according to the family’s legal counsel, there is no truth to the gunman’s accusations that slain former Lamitan City mayor Rose Furigay and her family were involved in the illegal drug trade.
“His story is untrue,” said Atty. Quirino Esguerra Jr. in James Agustin’s report on Unang Balita on Monday.
According to Esguerra, the gunman, Dr. Chao-Tiao Yumol, has a personal grudge against Furigay after the local government ordered the closure of his infirmary clinic for supposedly operating without the necessary permit.
“He (Yumol) was even required to explain by the City Council and by the City Mayor, but what he did, he castigated them. He posted them on Facebook, malicious insinuation. So the mayor wouldn’t like to confront him about this, they filed cases. There are pending 60 cyberlibel cases,” Esguerra said.
The clinic, Esguerra said, is located just right across the street from the Lamitan City Hall.
Aside from Furigay, two other people were killed in the shooting incident that marred the graduation ceremony of the Ateneo law school in Quezon City on Sunday afternoon.
Also killed were Furigay’s aide Victor Capistrano and Ateneo security guard Jeneven Bandiala.
Furigay’s daughter, meanwhile, was wounded in the incident but is now in stable condition, according to Esguerra.
“Hannah is in stable condition. She sustained a graze wound in the head and two wounds in the abdomen,” he said.
Former mayor Furigay, on one hand, suffered gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
Yumol, 38, was arrested shortly after the incident. Investigation revealed that he had booked a ride to the Ateneo de Manila University campus and so was able to bring in his two firearms.
The incident occurred while a gun ban was in effect in Metro Manila in connection with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s first State of the Nation Address (Sona).
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