The Philippine National Police (PNP) has ordered a full-scale manhunt following two separate fatal shootings on Saturday involving a public school teacher in Isabela and a director of an electric cooperative in Oriental Mindoro.
In Isabela, 33-year-old teacher Lullete Jane de Guzman was shot dead outside her residence in Barangay Cabaritan, San Manuel. De Guzman, a former Miss Philippines-Earth runner-up, was reportedly inside her vehicle with her three children when the attack happened.
In a separate incident in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro, Antonio Mendeja, a director of the Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Ormeco), was killed while inspecting his vehicle.
Ormeco released a statement Sunday mourning Mendeja as a “pillar of integrity” and calling for swift justice.
PNP Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. condemned the attacks and directed regional offices in Cagayan Valley and Mimaropa to prioritize the identification and arrest of the perpetrators.
“We will focus on identifying and arresting all those involved in these two killings in the interest of justice and the rule of law,” Nartatez said in a statement Sunday.
As part of the response, the PNP has ordered increased crime prevention measures, including more frequent checkpoints and heightened police visibility in the affected regions.
Authorities are urging anyone with information regarding either incident to come forward to assist with the ongoing investigations.