5 Victory Liner buses torched; 6 policemen, one civilian hurt

By Jennelyn Mondejar

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Ten armed men torched five buses parked at the terminal of Victory Liner here night of Nov. 26, shot and wounded six patrolling policemen, while a civilian suffered third-degree burns.

Gov. Amado Espino condemned the incident, saying it was an “unconscionable and arrogant display of terrorism, destabilizing the normal flow of economic activities.” Espino commended the wounded policemen and vowed to extend assistance to them.

Supt. Harris Fama, Lingayen police chief identified the wounded police officers as PO3s Daniel Sison and Alex de Guzman, PO2 Reynaldo Domalanta, and PO1s Herman Camba, Armeno Abarabar and Ramon Valencerina.

The cops were on patrol aboard a Toyota pick-up when they were shot as they stopped near the bus terminal on Avenida street.

Fama said the policemen, though hit, shot back, wounding some of their attackers who fled on board two vans.

The gunmen then proceeded to the nearby Victory Liner bus terminal and poured gasoline on five of the buses there, sending passengers into panic.

A bus conductor, identified as Villamor Muyanos, was also reportedly shot and wounded by the armed men.

The attackers fled after setting the buses on fire.

The bus company estimated damage from the attack at P30 million.

Police said they are looking into the possibility of involvement of communist rebels in the attacks.
Cops found caliber .45 shells at the scene. The policemen were armed with caliber 9-mm pistols.

In critical condition was civilian Villaflor Moyano who was inside one of the buses when they were torched at around 11:40 p.m.

Senior Supt. Percival Barba, provincial police director, said they were “looking at all angles.”
He said another Victory Liner bus was torched in the company’s terminal in Cubao, Quezon City recently including a unit of its sister company, Five Star, in San Fabian town several months ago.
The attackers reportedly approached a security guard, politely asked permission if they could make an inquiry, but instead disarmed him.

There were no passengers at the terminal, as the first trip was at 1 a.m.

Barba and Chief Supt. Luizo Ticman, Region 1 police director, visited the wounded cops at the hospital and awarded them the Medalya ng Sugatang Magiting. A lawyer of Victory Liner said the company would wait for the police to finish their nvestigation before they would issue a statement.