PNP: Sniper could have shot Rizal, Cagayan mayor

Investigators are looking into the possibility that a sniper was behind the fatal shooting of Rizal, Cagayan Mayor Joel Ruma, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday.

“Lumalabas po sa kanilang initial investigation isang tama lang po mula sa isang sniper rifle ang ginamit magmula po sa vantage point... Nasa vantage point po yung possible na sniper,” PNP public information office head Police Colonel Randulf Tuaño said in a press briefing.

(Initial investigation reveals that only one shot from a sniper rifle was fired from a vantage point ...The possible sniper was at the vantage point.)

“Ang narinig na putok ay isa lamang galing sa labas, kinokonsider po na ang suspek ay isang sniper sapagkat may nakuha rin isang basyo  ng caliber 5.86, he added.

(The gunshot heard was only one from the outside, it is considered that the suspect is a sniper because a 5.86 caliber empty shell was also recovered.)

Tuaño said authorities are also checking if the stray bullets that wounded three people came from the police providing security for the mayor.

The four local police personnel are in custody for their statements and forensic examination. 

“Ipa-parrafin din po at forensic din yung mga issued firearms para ma-determine natin kung sino ang possible nakasugat dun sa ibang taong wounded sa loob ng barangay,” said Tuaño. 

(The issued firearms will also undergo paraffin and forensic examinations so we can determine who could have wounded the other people in the barangay.) 

Based on a police report, Ruma was shot at 9:30 p.m., sustaining an entrance gunshot wound on his right shoulder and an exit gunshot wound on his upper-to-middle right back chest.

The mayor was brought to Tuao District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival at 10:31 p.m.

Meanwhile in Oscar Oida’s report in “24 Oras, the Cagayan PNP said that initial probe suggests that the suspect could have fired shots from an elevated location. 

“Yung putok po ay galing po sa mountainous part, kung mula po doon sa barangay hall ay 80 to 100 meters from doon sa crime scene. Possible na pumwesto yung gunman po is from doon sa pinaka sa taas po ng bundok, more or less 40 feet from the doon po sa mismong kalsada,” said spokesperson Police Captain Shiela Joy Fronda. 

(The shot came from a mountainous location, so it’s like 80 to 100 meters away from the crime scene. It’s possible that the gunman positioned himself from the highest part of the mountain or more less 40 feet from the road.)

Patrol units were launched for hot pursuit operations and high-risk checkpoints are also being set up in nearby towns to block the fleeing perpetrators, police said.

The Cagayan PNP Provincial Forensic Unit is already processing the crime scene.

The public is advised to immediately report any information that may lead to the identification and arrest of the suspects. —RF, GMA Integrated News

For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.