The suspect in Ateneo shooting, Dr. Yumol behind bars.
THE father of Dr. Chao Tiao Yumul, the gunman behind the shooting spree that killed a former mayor and two others inside the Ateneo de Manila University compound less than a week ago, had just been slain in Lamitan, Basilan, says the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Local police investigators however would not categorically say whether or not the killing of Rolando Yumul has something to do with the bloody Sunday shooting incident which resulted in the death of former Lamitan Mayor Rose Furigay, her executive assistant Victor Capistrano and university guard on duty Jeneven Bandiala.
The former mayor’s daughter, Hannah narrowly escaped death and remains billeted in an undisclosed hospital. Initial probe showed that the victim, a retired cop, was shot by motorcycle-riding tandem around 6:45 in Friday morning just outside their residence. He was declared dead on arrival after sustaining four gunshot wounds on his back. Scene of the Crime operatives recovered spent shells of a .45 caliber pistol at the crime scene.
“The case remains under investigation, we are still collecting information, evidence and witness accounts,” said Lamitan police chief Lieutenant Colonel Tadzhabel Managola in mixed dialects.
The incident happened less than a week after the shooting incident at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, where Furigan is supposed to attend the commencement exercises for her daughter Hannah who obtained a law degree.
“Our police personnel in Lamitan City are already conducting an investigation regarding the case. So far, it is speculative to assume its direct relation to the shooting incident that happened last Sunday at the Ateneo de Manila University,” said PNP public information office chief Brigadier General Roderick Alba. Looking back, Dr. Yumul admitted to have planned the killing of Furigay whom he claimed “pushed him hard against the wall” with the 76 cyber libel charges filed against him, closure of his clinic and Lamitan and three failed attempts to kill him.
Atty. Berteni Causing, who represented the Ateneo shooting suspect in the 76 cyber libel cases, said that Yumul was made to pay over P2 million just for the bail of the cyber libel cases.
