DepEd exec escapes gun attack, wife hurt in Sultan Kudarat

A member of the PNP Scene of the Crime Operatives conducts post-crime investigation on the shooting on Monday, Jan. 8, of an education official’s car in Isulan town, Sultan Kudarat. (Photo from PNP Isulan)

ISULAN, Sultan Kudarat — An education official cheated death but his wife was slightly injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his parked vehicle outside an office here on Monday.

Lieutenant Colonel Richelu Alucilja, Isulan police chief, said Eric Balancio, 51, education program supervisor of Sultan Kudarat schools division office and a director of Central Isulan Teachers, Employees and Retirees Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CITERMPCO), had just alighted from his white Isuzu MUX car (plate number MAQ 3509), and entered the cooperative office in Barangay Kalawag 2.

His wife, Norilyn, 51, a nurse of Sultan Kudarat provincial hospital, was waiting inside the car, sitting in the front seat, when two men riding in tandem on a motorbike arrived at around 4:45 p.m and opened fire on the car driver’s side.

Colonel Christopher Bermudez, Sultan Kudarat provincial police director, said the nurse was not hit by bullets but was injured by broken glasses.

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He said the suspects immediately fled on board a Baja motorcycle.

“The real target was Mr. Balancio based on bullet entry points,” Bermudez said.

Police are still determining the motive for the attack.