Ex-mayor’s daughter wounded in Ateneo shooting to undergo another operation

The daughter of the former Basilan mayor killed in the shooting at the Ateneo de Manila University during the weekend will undergo another operation for the injuries she sustained in the incident.

A gunman on Sunday entered the Ateneo campus, where the law school was about to hold its graduation ceremony, and shot dead three individuals: former Lamitan City mayor Rose Furigay, her aide Victor Capistrano, and Ateneo security guard Jeneven Bandiala.

Furigay's daughter Hannah, a graduating law student, was wounded and is being treated in hospital.

According to a joint report by Chino Gaston and Joseph Morong on "24 Oras" on Tuesday, Hannah was shot in the liver and colon. A bullet also grazed her left eye. She has been released from the hospital's intensive care unit, but will need another operation.

At their mother's wake on Tuesday, Hannah's twin sister Kelsey told reporters how Hannah described the incident to her.

She said Hannah told her that the gunman ran up to them as they were about to enter the Arete building, where the law school graduation was about to take place.

"Next thing I know, our mom was down beside her, everyone was running around her and commotion, and she felt a sharp pain," Kelsey said. "She was just like, 'My mom, my mom, please help my mom,' because she knew my mom was hit critically."

It fell on Kelsey to tell her sister that their mother had died.

"I had to tell her the truth right away. Everyone was telling me not to, but when she's your twin sister and she's asking what's happening, I had to tell her," she said tearfully.

Hannah and Kelsey's father, Lamitan Mayor Roderick Furigay, said that Hannah has been asking to see her mother's remains, so they have not yet been able to finalize when they will be able to go home to Basilan.

"Yun ang hingi niya sa akin, if she can go with us. I said na I cannot say yes, it's up to the doctor," he said.

Capistrano's friends also could not accept that he is gone. "Hindi ako nakatulog, hindi ko na-accept lahat ng nangyayari kasi ang taong iyan, very strong," said mourner Chin Chin Bautista of his friend.

Ateneo, meanwhile, is also mourning Bandiala, setting up a fund-raising drive for his family.

Registered firearms

Chao-Tiao Yumol, a doctor and a resident of Lamitan, has been arrested for the shootings. He has been charged with three counts of murder as well as frustrated murder, carnapping, and illegal possession of firearms at the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office.

Two firearms were found in Yumol's possession when he was nabbed. According to the police, one is a 9mm pistol registered to the suspect, with an expired license. The other is a .45-caliber pistol with a silencer registered to an Army lieutenant in Patikul, Sulu. The police spoke with the soldier, who said that his gun had been missing since November 2019.

"Vine-verify pa natin sa SOCO kung alin diyan ang baril na ginamit niya," said Quezon City Police District director Police Brigadier General Remus Medina.

Yumol tested positive in the paraffin test for gunpowder residue, and tested negative for alcohol and drugs, the report said. A fake driver's license was also found in his possession. — BM, GMA News