2 killed, 8 hurt in attack on dance hall in Silay City

BACOLOD CITY—Two persons were killed and eight others were wounded at around 11 p.m. on Saturday when a former Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) member and three unidentified men fired at a civilian inside a dance hall in Silay City, Negros Occidental.

Killed were Richard Lisbog Centina, 40, of Silay, and Sonny Boy Suerte Tongcua, 41, of Talisay City.

Police said the victims were attending a dance at Hacienda Lapuz in Barangay (village) Capitan Ramon when four armed men fired at Centina.

Tongcua and eight others were hit in the crossfire, police said.

One of the assailants was identified as Ryan Layo of Hacienda San Rafael in Barangay Guimbala-on, Silay, an alleged former RPA-ABB member.

Centina, who was among those hurt, was able to fire back, said Silay police chief Superintendent Rosauro Francisco Jr.

The motive of this shooting incident is an old grudge and a misunderstanding at the dance hall, he said, without elaborating.

Layo and his unidentified companions remained at large.

Those wounded include Mark Derbin Mila Bacera, 16; Mark Llorico Guardiano, 16; Johnny Centina Lima, 16; and Dalton Alvarez Mayo, 18, all of Silay City.—Carla P. Gomez