Ex-OIC mayor of Davao del Sur town killed in apparent robbery—police

BANSALAN, Davao del Sur, Philippines – Unidentified armed men, in what initially appeared to be a robbery, killed a retired government official whose career started in 1986 when he was appointed this town’s officer-in-charge mayor by the late president Corazon Aquino in the aftermath of the Edsa Revolution.

But investigators said they were considering other angles in the slaying of Romulo Nuyad, 66, who was stabbed dead inside his home in Villa Doneza in Poblacion 2 here on Tuesday evening.

Nuyad, who retired from government service a few years ago, was alone when two men barged into his home around 5:45 p.m., the town police chief, Senior Inspector Milgrace Driz said.

Based on a statement from family members, Nuyad’s wife and daughter were attending important chores in other places in the town and left the former town official alone.

Driz said a bloodstained P100 bill that was seen by a child falling off an attacker’s pocket might readily indicate that it was a robbery.

The police’s Scene of Crime Operatives said the victim suffered multiple stab wounds, which indicated he had tried fighting off his attackers.

The inside of Nuyad’s house was also in disarray, which made the incident look like a robbery but Driz said the police decided to pursue other angles because it appeared that the two men’s objectives went beyond carting away valuables.

Ana Jane Nuyad-Calgas, the victim’s daughter, said that some P100,000 in cash and valuables disappeared from their home after the attack.

However, she said the family was leaving the investigation to the police.

Driz said cups with left-over beverage and plates with food were seen at the terrace of the house, indicating that the former OIC-mayor might have initially welcomed the attackers into his home.

“The victim possibly knew the attackers as there were traces of how he had welcomed them into his house,” Driz added.

The victim’s neighbor recounted seeing two men on a motorbike before Nuyad’s lifeless body was discovered.

But he said the men’s faces were not visible from a distance.  The witness could not tell if they were wearing masks.