Activist opposed to hydro project killed in Ifugao

BAGUIO CITY—- Two gunmen shot and killed an activist, who had been opposing a hydroelectric power project at Tinoc town in Ifugao province, the police said on Monday.

Ricardo Mayumi, a 52-year-old member of the Ifugao Peasant Movement (IPM), died from multiple gunshot wounds inside his house in Ambabag village in Kiangan town at 8:10 p.m. last March 2. His cousins and a neighbor rushed to his house when they heard four gunshots that night.

Witnesses said one of the suspects wore a black jacket and a bonnet while the other was wearing a brown jacket and a helmet. Forensic investigators found three empty shells fired from a caliber .45-pistol at the crime scene.

The IPM, in a statement, condemned the murder of Mayumi, who had lobbied against the Quad River mini hydro projects in Tinoc town in Ifugao. The group said Mayumi had been receiving death threats.

Mayumi was an associate of activist William Bugatti, who was gunned down after attending a court hearing on March 25, 2014.                         /kga