Bacolod lawyer, companion ambushed in Negros Occidental

BACOLOD CITY – A Bacolod lawyer and her companion were ambushed at Hacienda Nilo, Barangay Matab-ang, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, at 10:46 p.m. Friday.

Injured were Erfe del Castillo, 44, and her companion Efren Palmares, who were rushed to the Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital in Bacolod City.

A source said del Castillo had just arrived from Manila and had been picked up from the Bacolod-Silay Airport by Palmares. They were driving along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road headed for Bacolod when unidentified gunmen fired at the silver Porsche they were riding in at Barangay Matab-ang.

Reports said Del Castillo was injured on the right shoulder and had a bandage on her head while her companion suffered bullet wounds.

No further details were available as of posting time.

Del Castillo is the lawyer of Francis Rey Cabuga who had earlier figured in the news concerning the Metro Inn Hotel controversy in Bacolod City.

It was the second ambush in a week in Negros Occidental.

On December 14, Bacolod Councilor Ricardo “Cano” Tan and his wife, Nita, were also ambushed in Barangay Alangilan, Bacolod.

Both managed to escape being hit by the gunfire./lb