TG Guingona's mother 'in pain but recovering' after ambush

Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental Mayor Ruthie Guingona is still "in pain" but is recovering after surviving an ambush on Saturday, her son Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said on Monday.

 

"She's in pain but she's recovering... at least ang maganda rito, hindi na life-threatening ang situation niya," Sen. Guingona said in an interview on GMA News TV's Balitanghali.

 

He said that her mom, wife of former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., just underwent an operation where doctors closed off her gunshot wounds and placed metal plates on broken bones.

 

"Magpapahinga na siya after this... hindi na pwede bumalik muna [sa trabaho] I think for several months," he said.

 

Mrs. Guingona, who will complete her third term as mayor on June 30, was on her way to the city proper from a barangay fiesta coronation night when her four-vehicle convoy was attacked by New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas in Capitulangan village around 10:45 p.m.   Her daughter, Marie, is running for the post under the administration's Liberal Party.

 

The rebels fired at the mayor’s vehicle, killing driver Tomas Velasco and his brother, Nestor, who was an alternate driver. Injured was one of police escorts, PO3 Rolando Benemirito.

 

Mrs. Guingona reportedly pretended to be dead until authorities arrived to rescue her.

 

On Monday, Sen. Guingona said his father was "very sad" about the incident and that they also grieve with the families of her mother's driver and aide.

 

"Magkapatid pa naman sila... they've been with us for 10 yrs already and pinatay nila and I don't know what reaction [dapat] but really dismayado," he said. NPA apology

 

In a statement issued Sunday, the NPA apologized for the incident, but insisted that it was a checkpoint operation gone awry.

 

"The New People's Army - North Central Mindanao Regional Command expresses its sincere apology to the Guingonas [but] contrary to reports that the incident was an ambush, it started when Mayor Guingona's armed escorts fired upon an NPA checkpoint in Capitulagangan," it said.

 

Guingona, however, said it doesn't matter who fired the first shot. What's important, he said, is that the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, is not authorized to conduct a checkpoint.

 

"Iisa lang ang gobyerno at sila lang ang may karapatang magpatupad ng batas

sila lang ang executive dept under the President, President Noynoy Aquino, and the institution of government that can conduct checkpoints," he said.

 

"Gumagawa sila [NPA] ng checkpoiint [kahit] hindi sila dapat gumawa ng checkpoint.  Walang ibang dapat gumawa ng checkpoint kundi ang Philippine National Police o ang Armed Forces of the Philippines," he added.

 

He likewise expressed his gratitude to both the PNP and AFP for rescuing his mother.

 

"Buong-buo ang kompyansa ko sa ating Armed Forces of the Philippines," he said.

 

The senator, meanwhile, said he has asked Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. to declare the area as a hotspot.

 

"Sabi niya we will do it because they have a command congerence this morning and I take that as a commitment," he said. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMA News