The gunman in the shooting incident at Ateneo de Manila University on July 24 claimed that the Furigay couple of Lamitan, Basilan, Rose and Roderick, are druglords, but a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency document says otherwise.
A certification from the PDEA of the slain former Lamitan, Basilan Mayor Rose Furigay circulated online a day after the shooting incident.
Social anthropologist Antonio Montalvan II posted the document on Facebook.
The certification issued in January 2021 said that Furigay has no pending drug charges.
“He claims he killed Rose Furigay because she was in the drug trade. And the DDS BBM world is celebrating that. They say the killer is a hero, no matter the venom he has spewed as a rabid troll,” Montalvan wrote in the post.
A PDEA certification is issued after a request of an organization or an individual to certify that they are not accused of involvement in the trade or use of illegal drugs.
Since 2020, the suspected gunman, physician Chao Tiao Yumul or Yumol, has been accusing the Furigay couple of being involved in the illegal drug trade and corruption in Lamitan City in his now-deleted posts.
However, according to Quirino Esguerra, lawyer of the Furigay family, the incident was fueled by Yumol’s grudge after the local government of Lamitan enforced the cease-and-desist order of the Bangsamoro Health Minister on Yumu’s infirmary clinic as it operates without a permit.
READ: Ateneo shooting: What we know about suspect Chao Tiao Yumol
Esguerra said the malicious posts of Yumol against Furigay, the vice mayor and the employees of the Lamitan City government led to the filing of more than 70 cyber libel cases against him.
Yumol, a supporter of former president Rodrigo Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is a verified Facebook user with almost 75,000 followers on Facebook.
His posts often targeted former Vice President Leni Robredo, activists, and the opposition.
He was arrested after shooting the former mayor, her aide Victor George Capistrano and Ateneo’s security guard Jeneven Bandiola during a graduation ceremony of law students at AdMU on Sunday.
Furigay daughter’s Hannah and a bystander were also wounded and are now recovering from violence.
READ: 3 dead in Ateneo shooting | ‘He deserves to be named and recognized’: Filipinos mourn death of Ateneo guard