PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines—Three persons were dead in a military camp here on Tuesday in what appeared to be a gun attack that killed a retired officer and his wife and a suicide by the alleged assailant.
The killings and apparent suicide took place inside the camp of the Western Command (Wescom) in this city, according to a military report that was mostly sketchy as a result of an apparent news blackout being imposed by authorities in the command.
According to a brief statement issued by the Wescom, spouses Jose Santiago, 58, and Marina Santiago, nurse at the naval service inside the command, were shot dead in their home inside the military camp allegedly by Chief Petty Officer Manuel Quiano at around 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Quiano, in turn, shot himself immediately after shooting the couple at the Santiago residence inside the compound of the Naval Forces West here, according to an initial statement issued by the military command and signed by Wescom spokesperson Maj. Niel Anthony Estrella.
Marina Santiago, reports gathered at the camp said, died while undergoing treatment at the Wescom military hospital, while her husband, Jose, died of multiple gunshot wounds during treatment after he was rushed by neighbors to Adventist Hospital, also in Puerto Princesa City.
In the official statement, Estrella said authorities were still investigating the motive for the shooting, adding that they were looking at the possibility of a dispute over a financial transaction between the Santiago couple and Quiano.
Quiano was set to board a military C-130 aircraft on Tuesday afternoon bound for Manila but decided to turn back and head to the couple’s house and attacked them, according to a Naval source who asked not be identified as he has no authority to speak on the shootings.