| Injured | Killed |
|---|---|
| 0 | 4 |
Date: 28 December 2013
Source: Manila Bulletin
Manila, Philippines – Mayor Ukol Tumog Talumpa of Labangan town in Zamboanga del Sur, his wife Lea, Salipuddin Talumpa, and an 18-month-old boy were shot to death at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 before noon yesterday.
The four were declared dead on arrival at the Villamor Air Base Hospital.
Airport General Manager Angel Honrado said the mayor, his wife, other members of his family, and their bodyguards were shot at by at least two men as they stepped out of the passenger terminal shortly after getting off a flight from Zamboanga del Sur. He said Talumpa and his party landed from a Cebu Pacific flight 5J-852 around 9 a.m.
Police withheld the identities of the other victims pending notification of next of kin, he added.
Honrado, speaking alongside Manila police officials at a news conference, said the authorities did not know the identity of the gunmen or the motive for the attack. Airport security men chased after the gunmen but they escaped on a motorcycle in the heavy late-morning traffic outside the terminal, Honrado said.
Reports from various sources said Mayor Talumpa and his group arrived from Zamboanga del Sur on Cebu Pacific flight 5J 852. After the mayor claimed his luggage, they left the arrival area and proceeded to their waiting vehicle near NAIA 3’s Arrival Bay 2.
At around 11:15 a.m., the unidentified gunmen, who were reportedly seen on board a motorcycle and wearing police uniforms, shot at the mayor and his group at the loading bay just outside the terminal building. The suspects had been seen waiting for the mayor to arrive at the bay.
Mayor Talumpa and the three other fatalities were declared dead on arrival at the Villamor Air Base Hospital in Pasay City.
Chief Supt. Jose Erwin Villacorte, chief of the Southern Police District (SPD), announced the creation of a special investigation team. Villacorte said aside from the four fatalities, at least five people were hurt and were taken to the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City for treatment.
The Special Investigation Task Group will be headed by Senior Supt. Billy Beltran, the SPD’s deputy chief for operations. “Hindi hawak ng SPD ang airport, but investigating the incident goes beyond the jurisdiction of the Aviation Security Group (ASG) and Airport Security,” Villacorte said.
Villacorte said one of the angles they are looking at is that the shooting was politically motivated. Mayor Talumpa, a member of the political opposition, won a hotly contested election for mayor of Labangan in last May’s elections.
The Philippine National Police’s Aviation Security Group (PNP ASG) said police investigators have in their custody at least three witnesses to the killing of Mayor Talumpa and three others at NAIA Terminal 3.
Chief Supt. Christopher Laxa, director of the ASG, said scene-of-the-crime operatives recovered 17 bullet casings for .45 caliber pistol at the crime scene.
He said the ambush appeared to be well-planned as the assassins made sure that Talumpa would be finished off this time after the mayor survived at least two attempts on his life in past years.
• NBI To Investigate
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a probe into the shooting of a Zamboanga del Sur town mayor and three others at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
“I understand that was the third attempt on the life of the Mayor and this time the culprits succeeded and it’s extremely deplorable that even the wife, grandson, and a staff were also killed,” she said.
On September 19, 2012, a police officer escorting Talumpa, then vice mayor of Labangan, was wounded after an unidentified assailant hurled a grenade at the official’s vehicle. Authorities said the grenade exploded near Talumpa’s vehicle while it was parked outside a recruitment agency on San Pedro St., Pagadian City.
Talumpa was inside the vehicle with his wife and another relative when the explosion occurred. PO1 Mohamad Mangumpara, who was still outside of the vehicle, was the only one hurt in the blast.
Talumpa also escaped a slay try in Ermita, Manila in 2010.
Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Antonio Cerilles, in an interview over ANC, said Mayor Talumpa was a staunch anti-illegal drugs advocate. He added that some of his opponents are allegedly linked to illegal drugs based on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency list.
Cerilles called on authorities to review the procedure in assigning police escorts, stressing that Talumpa’s opponents still have police escorts even if they are no longer serving the government.
In Malacañang, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said President Benigno S. Aquino III has directed the PNP to go after the perpetrators responsible for the shooting.
“We condemn this blatant act of violence that has killed an innocent bystander and imperiled the safety of citizens in the airport,” Coloma said. He also assured that the necessary measures will be adopted to further ensure the safety of the citizens, especially this holiday season. (With reports from Leonard D. Postrado and Madel Sabater Namit)