Another minor shot dead in Pikit, NCotabato

A MINOR was killed while attending to their sari-sari (variety) store in Fort Pikit village in North Cotabato.

This came two days after a shooting incident that killed a 13-year-old student and injured two other minors in the same town.

BGen. Donald Gumiran, commander of the 602nd Infantry Brigade, identified the latest victim as 15-year-old Justine Abalon, a Grade 9 student of Notre Dame of Pikit.

“The victim was just standing in his store when unidentified suspects approached him and fired at him several times using a caliber .45 pistol, hitting his chest,” Gumiran said.

The assailants fled toward the direction of Barangay Batulawan shortly after the incident on Thursday afternoon.

The gunman was allegedly wearing a green shirt.

Abalon was first brought to Cruzado Medical Hospital in Pikit but later transferred to the Community Doctor’s Hospital in Midsayap, Cotabato.

Fr. Romeo Saniel, head of the InterReligious Dialogue of Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Pikit, said the victim was declared dead on arrival.

Col. John Calinga, town police chief, said that a farmer was also shot in Fort Pikit village around 40 minutes before Abalon was shot.

The police identified the victim as Lopez Guiama, 42, a resident of Balongis village, Pikit.

Calinga added that Guiama was driving home aboard his motorcycle after buying a sack of cement from the market when two gunmen on a motorcycle shot him.

The victim sustained gunshot wounds in his neck and arm and fell on the ground. He was brought to a local hospital and is in critical condition as of press time.

One of the attackers reportedly wore a white shirt and the other was wearing a sweatshirt.

A .45 caliber empty shell was recovered from the crime scene.

The Municipal Peace and Order Council held a meeting on Friday, February 17, to tackle the spate of violence in the town.

Unicef Philippines Deputy Representative Behzad Noubary said on Wednesday he is deeply concerned about the earlier shooting incident that targeted school children.

“Conflict robs children of their life and childhood. Violence threatens children’s lives and well-being. They are denied access to education and essential services and live in an atmosphere of fear. We need to end violence. Children are zones of peace,” Noubary said.

“Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Republic Act 7610 or the ‘Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act,’ the Philippines including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, has a legal and moral obligation to promote, protect and fulfill the human rights of every child.”

The fatality was identified as Dianalan Guintawan, a resident of Barangay Macabual and a student of Pikit National High School.

His companions, both 12-year-old boys, were also wounded in the attack and are currently undergoing treatment in a hospital.

Initial investigation revealed that the three students were walking home at noon when the gunmen tailed and shot them from behind.

The parents of the Guintawan buried the boy on the same day, in accordance with Islamic rites.

“In situations of violence and conflict, children continue to pay a heavy price. Between 2005 and 2020, the United Nations verified over 266,000 grave violations against children in more than 30 conflict situations around the world. In the Philippines, the Secretary General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict in July 2022 revealed that 67 children have been killed and injured between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021,” Noubary added.