House of BO-PK supporter strafed; another supporter slapped on the face

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) supportere claimed that her house located in the mountain barangay of Sudlon 1 was strafed by still unidentified men late night on Saturday, May 4, while another said that she was slapped on the face by a still unidentified suspect.

Amor Cabiles, head of the Barangay Mayor’s Office (BMO) in barangay of Sudlon 1, said that four men who were onboard two motorcycles visited her residence at around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 4. One of the backriders disembarked from the motorcycle and rained bullets at her residence.

Cabiles, 45, said they recovered at least seven slugs from a .45 caliber pistol outside of her home early today, May 5.  The bullets left holes on the concrete wall of their home and on their ceiling that was made from light materials.

“Na shock gyud mi sa nahitabo,” she told CDN Digital in a phone interview this morning.

(The incident came as a shock to members of my family.)

At about the same time, another group of still unidentified men also visited the residence of Dennifer Aguilar, 33, in Sitio Tabla that is located two Sitios away from Cabiles’ residence in Sitio Consit.

Aguilar, who is head of the barangay’s Violence Against Children (VAC) office, alleged that one of the suspects forced open their wooden door, slapped her several times on the face and fired shots in the air before they left.

The incident happened exactly one month since the strafing of the residences of Sudlon 2 Barangay Captain Priscillo Albores and Sinsin Barangay Captain Aurelio Laspoña, who are both BOPK supporters.  The separate strafing incidents have remained unresolved.

Read More: Sinsin, Sudlon II barangay captains fear for security

Cabiles, who is also president of a farmers association in their area, said that she had been getting death threats since February this year.

“Naay mag sige ug hatud ug istorya nako nga naa kunoy mga taw nga mo ingon nga bughaon gyud ko sa wala pay election” she said.

(I have been getting warnings that someone wanted be me dead before the election.)

Afraid of the threats, Cabiles said she opted to cancel the conduct of farm demos that she would normally scheduled on Wednesdays and Saturdays with her 247 members.

She also sent her three children to stay with relatives to ensure their safety.

Not wanting to anymore sleep on their home, she and her husband, Frankline, 46, built a makeshift shelter on the other side of the road, just across their home, that they would occupy at night.

“Wala lang gyud mi ni biya aron ma tan aw sad namo ang among balay labi na sa gabie,” she said.

(We opted to remain in our neighborhood so that we could continue to watch over our house especially at night.)

Cabiles said that she and Frankline occupied their makeshift shanty, Saturday night. The couple was already about to go to sleep when the still unidentified suspect pepper bullets on their home.

Neighbors saw two motorcycles in the area. The backrider of the first motorcycle, whom Cabiles’ neighbors’ described as tall and thin, disembarked and fired shots at their home. He again boarded the waiting motorcycle and fled. The passengers on the second motorcycle served as lookout.

Read More: House strafing incidents: Mayor Osmeña puts up P100K reward

Aguilar, for her part, told CDN Digital that they heard a loud knock on their door at around 11:30 p.m. but she refused to open the door out of fear. She said that the knocking grew louder followed by a strong kick on their door.

Their wooden door finally opened after the third kick from a man whom she described to be in his 40s and has a huge built.

“Labas! Labas!” Aguilar heard the man yelling at her.

Aguilar said that when she went out of their home, the man slapped her repeatedly on the face hitting her on her right check, head and jaw.  She told CDN Digital that her face remained swollen as of this morning.

“Lumayo ka dito! Pag hindi ka lumayo, babalikan ka namin,” she heard the man say.

(Leave this place! If you don’t, we will be coming back for you.)

The man fired his gun three times into the air before he finally left, Aguilar said.

Aguilar and Cabiles said that they plan to have the incidents reported to the Pardo Police Station this morning. Both said that they were not able to immediately call the police for assistance last night out of fear and because of their desire to first make sure that their family members were safe.