School principal, DepEd exec, village chief shot dead in Negros Oriental

ILOILO CITY –– Three persons, including a village chief and school principal, were gunned down in Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental early Thursday, barely two days before a lawyer was shot dead in the city center.

Armed men forcibly entered the house of siblings Arthur and Ardale Bayawa in Barangay Hibaiyo and repeatedly shot them at 12:55 a.m., according to a report reaching the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office.

The victims were brought to the Guihulngan District Hospital but were pronounced dead on arrival by the attending physician.

Arthur, 55, was a high school principal while Ardale, 49, was chief of the Curriculum Implementation Division of the Department of Education city division.

About 45 minutes later, armed men barged into the house of Romeo Alipan in Barangay Poblacion before repeatedly shooting him.

Alipan, 64, and village chief of Buenavista, was taken to the Guihulngan District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

On Tuesday, two motorcycle-riding gunmen shot dead lawyer Anthony Trinidad and wounded his wife Novie Marie Quirante-Trinidad. /lzb