DUMAGUETE CITY—Vice President Leni Robredo and her team are willing to “offer assistance” to fellow presidential candidate Ka Leody de Guzman after he, some senatorial aspirants, and members of the Manobo-Pulangihon indigenous tribe were shot in Bukidnon province.
De Guzman and senatorial bets Roy Cabonegro and David D’Angelo were there for a campaign sortie and accompanied the tribal families as they occupy some four hectares of their claimed ancestral domain.
Robredo’s spokesman Barry Gutierrez said they are thankful that De Guzman is safe.
“There can never be any justification for firing at peaceful, unarmed civilians,” he said.
“We await more clarity on what happened, including verified details of the injured so we may offer assistance,” the former lawmaker added.
Reports said security guards of a pineapple plantation in Quezon, Bukidnon opened fired at De Guzman’s party, hurting five people.
READ: Ka Leody's Bukidnon sortie peppered with bullets; at least two wounded
Farmer organizer Nannie Abela, who was standing near the presidential candidate, was hit in the chest.
In a press conference via Zoom on Tuesday, De Guzman said it was hard to determine if he was being targeted by the gunmen.
The shooting incident was caught live on Facebook because D’Angelo was airing the occupation.
The video captured three minutes of continued firing and two minutes of sporadic shooting.
READ: Palace urges probe of shooting incident vs Ka Leody in Bukidnon
Earlier, De Guzman rejected Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso's call for Robredo to withdraw from the presidential race, pointing out that the Vice President was far ahead in surveys from Moreno, Senator Panfilo Lacson, and former Defense chief Norberto Gonzales.