Lady farmer-militant shot dead in Misamis Oriental

By Ronron
March 12, 2007

A lady farmer-militant was shot dead over the weekend by an unknown suspect in Misamis Oriental province.

Police and Bayan Muna officials said Monday that Cichi Gandinao, 56, a member of Bayan Muna and Misamis Oriental Farmers Association, was killed a month after her husband’s uncle, Dalmacio Gandinao, was also killed in the same town of Salay in said province.

Gandinao was walking along the barangay road of Guinalaban, together with her husband, Ancilmito, and daughter, Elda, when the unidentified suspect shot her at around 3pm last Saturday, said Insp. Joserico Dayo, chief of the Salay Municipal Police Station.

Dayo said in a phone interview that the assailant, whose face was covered, immediately escaped on foot towards uphill direction.

Gandinao sustained gunshot wounds on her left chest, and both arms. She was declared dead on arrival at a hospital in the neighboring town of Balingasag.

“The motive is still being investigated jointly by the Salay Municipal Police Station and the Philippine Army unit here… We can not say yet if this is related to the killing of Dalmacio Gandinao (last February 8),” Dayo said in Cebuano. (The Dalmacio Gandinao killing case is yet to be resolved, said Dayo.)

Bayan Muna, however, immediately accused the military to be behind incident, saying a Philippine Army detachment is located nearby.

“Gandinao testified before UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston on February 20 regarding the February 8 murder of her (uncle-in-law) Dalmacio Gandinao, who was then the provincial chairperson of Bayan Muna…. Her slay brings to 129 the number of extrajudicially-killed Bayan Muna members and officers since (President Gloria Macapagal-) Arroyo came to power,” Bayan Muna said.

Dayo refused to confirm the party-list group’s claim as even the family of Gandinao has yet to blame any person or group. They could cite also any possible motive.

But Dayo admitted that in fact, a detachment of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Battalion, Bravo Company, is located near the shooting site.

“In our talk this morning with Divina Tina, a sister of the victim, at the office of Salay Mayor Vevincia Capistrano and 1Lt. Lemuel Bacarro, the ground commander here of the Philippine Army, she said they are not really sure if the suspect was a military man because he could not be recognized. So they could not point yet at any group or suspect,” Dayo said.

Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño said the Gandinao killing will “be brought immediately to the attention of Mr. Alston and US Senator Barbara Boxers, who will preside over a hearing on Wednesday regarding political killings” in the Philippines.

“We will exert all efforts to attain justice for the Gandinaos. We will press the Arroyo government to investigate the two murders. This is a challenge for law enforcers to identify and capture the perpetrators,” said Davao City-based Bayan Muna Representative Joel Virador./END