Clamors for justice rang out in the coastal village of Balibago in Masantol, Pampanga, on Wednesday, following the ambush that killed barangay captain Jinqui Quiambao on Tuesday.
‘My brother did not deserve this senseless death. It’s as if the whole village had been orphaned after losing a selfless leader. He was the type who would give up his own food even if he was about to eat it,’ a crying Severino Atienza, Quiambao’s eldest sister, told the Inquirer by phone. Quiambao, 39, was widowed three years ago when his wife died of an illness, leaving him childless, she said.
A car mechanic by trade, he ran for barangay captain for the first time and won. Quiambao also supported the congressional run of former Patrol Party-list Rep. Jay Bustos.
According to police, he was alighting from his service vehicle when the suspects opened fire. He sustained seven gunshot wounds-four to his upper body, two to his legs, and one to his neck, Pampanga police director Col. Eugene Marcelo said.
Lead
Marcelo added that the Masantol police had identified an initial lead on the two gunmen but declined to give further details.
Among the four other barangay captains riding in the same van, Barangay Nigui Captain Enrique Yamat was wounded in the hand and required surgery.
The group had attended the birthday celebration of Masantol Mayor Danilo Guintu at the town proper, and the village executives were on the way home, as they all led the villages along the left bank of the Pampanga River.
On Wednesday morning, hundreds of Balibago residents filled Quiambao’s compound, waiting for his remains to arrive for the wake, Councilor Bajun Lacap said.
‘He was well-loved because he took care of his people, always finding resources even with limited means,’ Lacap said. ‘Many were mourning, and some were crying.’
The Liga ng mga Barangay in the province condemned the killing.
‘This is a brazen act. We live in a society governed by laws, and no one should take justice into their own hands. We stand in solidarity with the bereaved family and join them in mourning their loss,’ the league’s provincial head, Dr. Benjamin Angeles, said in a statement sent to the Inquirer. In a social media post, Guintu urged villagers on the left bank to ‘stay calm and vigilant,’ assuring them that the police investigation was ‘serious and thorough.’