MANHUNT ON. The body of Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay Vice Mayor Restituto Calonge is slumped on a table after a gunman shot him to death Friday afternoon (Feb. 26, 2021). PNP chief Gen. Debold Sinas on Sunday (Feb. 28, 2021) said a manhunt operation is underway to arrest the killers of Calonge and Edgar Pampanga, an engineer. (Photo courtesy of PRO-9)
MANILA – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Debold Sinas on Sunday said a manhunt operation is underway to arrest the killers of vice mayor Restituto B. Calonge of Mabuhay town in Zamboanga Sibugay and Edgar Pampanga, an engineer.
He said forces in the Zamboanga peninsula have been mobilized to capture the suspects Erer Magoda and Jomar Taiting, both members of the Anwar Ansang Criminal Group who are engaged in gun for hire, piracy, and illegal drugs activities in the region.
The two were tagged by witnesses as responsible for shooting dead Calonge and Pampanga and for injuring two others in the Mabuhay town plaza at 3 p.m. on Feb. 26.
Wounded during the shooting incident were municipal employee Hdj. Abduhari Gapor and retired PNP member Gregorio Baya Cenas.
Initial investigation showed that while the victims were having a conversation near the municipal hall of Mabuhay town, the gunman suspect approached and shot victims using cal. 45 pistol base on recovered cartridges at the crime scene.
Victims bored gunshot wounds on different parts of their bodies. Gapor was rushed to the hospital for medical attention while Calonge and Pampanga died on the spot.
The suspect fled toward an unknown direction and got on a motorcycle described as black Honda XRM125.
Mabuhay, which comprises 18 barangays, is a fourth-class municipality with a population of 36,870 as of the 2015 census. (PNA)
