Town councilor’s wife killed  in riding-in-tandem shooting

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The wife of an incumbent Sangguniang Bayan (SB) member of Numancia, Aklan was shot dead morning of October 5, 2021.

The 42-year-old Juhnalyn Maribojo succumbed to multiple gunshot injuries. She was rushed to Dr. Rafael S. Tumbukon Memorial Hospital (DRSTMH) in Kalibo town where she was declared dead on arrival.

Police reports said that Maribojo was on her way to work at the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in Kalibo town when a lone gunman went near her.

Witnesses said she was sitting on a tricycle while the driver momentarily alighted from the vehicle to buy takeaway breakfast.

Corporal Arjorine Mendoza, Numancia police investigator, said the driver was Maribojo’s cousin and her a “suki” or regular passenger.

The woman even asked a passing ambulant fish vendor for the price of his goods.

Just as the vendor left, the gunman allegedly approached Maribojo and shot her at close range.

The assailant immediately boarded a waiting motorcycle, which served as getaway vehicle.

The two suspects later left their getaway vehicle some 500 meters away from the crime scene.

Witnesses said the two suspects immediately boarded a white Nissan Urvan Escapade van (temporary plate number 065007).

They were allegedly wearing crash helmets and face masks.

Colonel Ramil Perlito Perlas, Aklan police chief, said investigators have yet to find the motive for the killing.

“All angles are being considered,” he said.

Police learned that a subpoena was served to the victim for a case involving her husband SB member Jossel Maribojo.

“We couldn’t establish yet what that subpoena was all about, but it could on the properties of the estranged couple,” Perlas said,

Despite the couple not living together, the “politics” angle is also being investigated.

Investigators also found out the suspects’ getaway vehicle’s chassis and engine numbers have been defaced.

“We’re not discounting the possibility that the vehicle was stolen,” Perlas said.

CCTV footages of the suspects’ escape route are being reviewed to aid in the investigation.