Navy officer shot in face inside her car at Ft. Boni

MANILA, Philippines—The military and the police are conducting parallel investigations into the death of a female Navy officer who was found shot in the face inside her car at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, on Thursday.

The victim, 33-year-old 1Lt. Shelina Calumay, reported to the Office of the Naval Inspector General, whose functions include investigating irregularities in the service.

Calumay, the wife of a Marine sergeant currently assigned in Mindanao, recently gave birth to a daughter, according to a Navy statement on Friday.

Her mysterious death took place a week after a major crime was reported in a Navy facility also inside the fort. Some P2 million in cash went missing from the safe inside the manager’s office of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Commissary and Exchange at Bonifacio Naval Station. The military has yet to make public the results of its investigation into the theft.

Calumay’s body was found around 6 a.m. inside her gray Suzuki Swift then parked in front of Jurado Hall at Naval Station Jose Francisco, according to Lt. Cmdr. Marineth Domingo, chief of the Navy’s public affairs office.

Domingo said there was a bullet hole on the left window of Calumay’s car and that the victim was without her firearm and personal belongings like wallet and cell phone when found.

The Navy provost marshall would be conducting an investigation in support of the Taguig police, she said.

Calumay, a native of Batac, Ilocos Norte province, was a member of the Naval Officer Candidate Course class of 2013.

The victim’s husband, Sgt. Jeremy Calumay of the 62nd Force Reconnaissance Battalion based in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat province, had been informed of Calumay’s death, Domingo said.

“The Philippine Navy is extending its condolences and deepest sympathy to her husband, who is also a Philippine Marine, her baby, and all her loved ones,” the Navy said in the statement. With Kristine Felisse Mangunay