Head teacher killed in Pikit ambush; another teacher injured
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 26 May) — A head teacher was killed while his co-teacher who was driving the motorcycle they were riding was rushed to the hospital after gunmen fired at them at around 11:30 a.m. while they were passing in front of the Manaulanan Elementary School in Pikit, North Cotabato.
Police identified the victim as Joel Reformado, 36, head teacher of Damalasak Elementary School and a resident of Poblacion Pikit. He suffered several gunshot wounds in the different parts of his body.
Elton John Lapinid, 37, a teacher of the Mapagkaya Elementary School, who was driving the motorcycle, was rushed in a downtown hospital for surgery. He also suffered several gunshot wounds.
“They were busy organizing for a peace camp that will be held tomorrow but what they got in return was violence,” said a cousin of one of the victims who asked not to be named, citing security reasons.
According to Lt. Col. John Calinga, Chief of Police of Pikit town, when Reformado and Lapinid were passing in front of Manaulanan Elementary School from Barangay Silik going to the Poblacion, “two armed suspects suddenly appeared and opened fire.”
Joint police and army troops are conducting follow-up operations and investigation.
In Feburary, two students aged 13 and 15, were among the victims of gun attacks outside the school perimeter in Pikit.
The killings caught the attention of Unicef and Vice-President Sara Duterte, concurrent Secretary of Education, who visited Pikit Central Elemenrary School and Pikit National High School on February 27 to allay the fears of students, their parents and teachers.
The incident brought fear among the students and local school officials there reported to Duterte that it resulted in 65 percent drop our rate.
Duterte then instructed local authorities to implement the Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) or remote learning instructions for children still afraid to go to school. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera / MindaNews)
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