Stray bullet wounds civilian militia in Zamboanga del Sur

A stray bullet hit a member of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) during Christmas festivities in Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur. INQUIRER FILES

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — A stray bullet hit a member of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) during Christmas festivities in Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur.

Lt. Col. Rolando Vargas Jr., commanding officer of the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion, identified the victim as Bonie Cabaron, 32. The stray bullet hit the victim’s left arm.

Vargas said Cabaron was off-duty when the incident happened in Barangay Sugod at past 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 24.

According to Cabaron, he was at a nearby store to access its wi-fi signal, and while busy on his phone, he suddenly felt like being hit by a stone.

Other people in the store, however, told him he had a wound. Eventually, he was rushed to
the Zamboanga del Sur Medical Center (ZDSMC) in Pagadian City.

READ: Stray bullets hit 12 people during Christmas, New Year revelries

At the hospital, he was told that there was no doctor available to perform surgery to extract the slug, prompting him to transfer to a private hospital where he was advised to have his wound heal first.

On Wednesday, Cabaron had an anti-tetanus shot from Tukuran’s rural health center.

Cabaron was worried that the incident could affect his job, and more worried for the medical expenses.

Vargas said they will be coordinating with Cabaron on the needed assistance the military could provide to him.