BACOLOD CITY — A man was killed while another was wounded in an ambush staged by still unidentified persons in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental on Wednesday night.
The fatality remained unidentified since the police didn’t find any identification card from the victim, said Police Major Anthony Grande, Sipalay police chief.
He said the victim only identified himself as Rex when he rented the vehicle, a brand new Ford Everest.
Grande said they could not say if the ambush was drug-related but they found books and medical supplies in the vehicle.
The vehicle was peppered with bullets upon reaching Barangay Maricalum, Sipalay, 178 km south of here, about 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
Jomar Garcia, 30 and driver of the vehicle, was wounded but he managed to get out of the vehicle and was brought to the Sipalay infirmary by a passing “habal-habal” driver.
Sparks from the bullets fired at the vehicle were believed to have triggered a grass fire near the vehicle. The grassfire spread up towards the mountains.
Sipalay Councilor Dionilo Bogtae, who joined the team that responded to a fire alarm, said they discovered that an ambush had occurred only when they reached the area.
The hood and windshield of the Ford Everest that had no license plate were peppered with bullets from .45 caliber and 9-mm pistols, he said.
A lot of empty shells and live ammunition were also seen near the vehicle.
The team found Rex inside the vehicle and brought him to the hospital where he died later. The victim had bullet wounds in the head, body, arms, and legs.
The owner of the vehicle, Rosmar Dolatre of Kabankalan, told Bogtae that he rented the Ford Everest to a person who identified himself only as Rex, saying he did not know what his last name was.
The passenger went to Hinoba-an town Wednesday and was returning to Kabankalan when the ambush took place.
The passenger had a cloth wallet in his pocket with P1,000 in it but no IDs.