BAGUIO, Philippines – A mayor in Cagayan province was shot dead in the province on Wednesday night, April 23, Cagayan Valley regional police office confirmed. 

In a report, police said Rizal Mayor Joel Ruma was killed in Barangay Illuru Sur around 9:30 pm. Two others – Merson Abiguebel and Melanie Talay – were hurt.

Ruma was rushed to the Tuao District Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

The deadly gun attack came barely three weeks before the midterm elections.

The regional police said the assailants remain unidentified as of this posting. 

Authorities have launched pursuit operations to arrest suspects, while checkpoints were set up in nearby towns to limit the assailants’ movements.

According to the Cagayan Public Information Office, Ruma was shot during a campaign rally inside a village gymnasium. The mayor succumbed to a gunshot wound. 

Police urged anyone with useful information to coordinate with investigators. 

“Mariin naming kinokondena ang karahasang ito, lalo na sa panahong tayo ay naghahanda para sa mapayapang halalan 2025. Hindi kami titigil hangga’t hindi namin naibibigay ang hustisya para sa mga biktima,” Cagayan Valley regional police director Brigadier General Antonio Marallag Jr. said.

(We are vehemently condemning this violence, especially amid our preparation for peaceful 2025 elections. We will not stop until we give justice to the victims.)

Ruma was seeking reelection, along with wife, incumbent Vice Mayor Brenda Ruma. 

The victim was running under the National People’s Coalition against Partido Federal ng Pilipinas’ Florence Littaua and Lakas’ Ralph Mamauag. 

Ruma defeated Mamauag, a retired military general, in the 2022 race by over 2,000 votes.  The town has nearly 10,000 voters. 

Meanwhile, in the Cordillera Administrative Region, three people were shot dead by still unidentified gunmen in Tabuk City, Kalinga, on Thursday morning, April 24.

Those killed were Santos Calsiyao, Tokar Calsiyao, and Leo Palat Calsiyao, all residents of Basao Dilag in Tabuk.

Police found them sprawled lifeless beside a road in Purok, Barangay San Julian, alongside two M16 Armalite rifles and a shotgun. Police said the group had an encounter with gunmen at around 7 am. 

Authorities said they were not discounting a possible escalation into a tribal war, as the shooting occurred just a few meters from the house of a leader of a prominent tribe in Kalinga. – Rappler.com