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Half a million pesos was in the bag of Gina Ponsica when she was shot dead by robbers.
She and her husband Luisito Ponsica, former vice mayor of Barili town, had just arrived home Wednesday night after a long drive from Cebu City when someone shot the rear tire of their Sport Utility Van.
A gunman approached her husband at the wheel and shot him thrice in the hand, leg and stomach.
The couple had withdrawn a big amount of cash in Cebu City for their copra buy-and-sell business in time for Thursday’s market.
After the first gunshots, Gina ran out of the vehicle to try to get inside the gate.
Another man pointed a gun at her and told her to surrender her bag containing P500,000.
When she resisted, she was shot in the chest and stomach. Her bag was taken.
Four men fled on two motorcycles.
Gina, 43, was kneeling on the ground when her cousin-in-law Minda Ponsica finally opened the house gate and found her.
The couple were brought to the hospital. Gina didn't make it alive. Her husband, 44, was declared in stable condition.
The Ponsica couple had just withdrawn a big amount from a bank in Cebu City for their copra buy-and-sell business. The trip was timed for market day or “tabo” in Mantalongon on Thursday.
The police are looking at robbery as a likely motive but haven’t ruled out other theories like political factors. Luisito had been courted to run for Barili councilor by warring parties.
A family friend urged a deeper investigation, saying there was no need to shoot the couple if the perpetrators were only after the money.
“Pagduol sa mga tulisan, miingon nga kwarta ra ila unya boto dayon (When the robbers approached them, they said they only needed money. Then there were bursts of gunfire),” said Rene Alquizola, former manager of dyMR-Radyo ng Bayan and brother of the late Barili Mayor Bobby Alquizola,
Luisito was in stable condition at the hopsital but could not recall the faces of the assailants since the area was dark. The attack ocured about 8 p.m. and the area was not lighted.
Senior Supt. Jesus Gaquing, Cebu provincial director, ordered Barili police chief Alexander Soledad to give the case top priority. The town police is being assisted by the Provincial Intelligence Branch.
The Ponsica couple and their four children live in a two-story house in sitio Tubod, barangay Mantalongon, Barili. Their copra buy-and-sell business and pirggery were doing well.
On Wednesday night, the couple came from Cebu City where they had withdrawn money to buy copra in the public market on Thursday, market day in Mantalongon, Dalaguete town.
They would drive to Cebu City in their Isuzu Crosswind and park it at the second gate.
According to Minda, who has stayed with the Ponsica couple for three years, she was about to open the gate to let the SUV in about 8 p.m. Wednesday, when she heard a burst of gunfire.
The left rear tire of the vehicle was shot. She heard Gina scream her husband's nickname: “Loy.”
A masked man then approached Luisito and shot him. When Gina saw what happened, she got out of the vehicle and was about to run inside the house when another masked man pointed a gun at her.
“Ayaw ug palag (Don't resist),” the man allegedly told her and the grabbed her bag.
“Murag di man jud ta ihatag ta ni Gina kay naay, murag naglabnutay sila kay naa gud nahibilin nga handle sa bag digto sa gawas (But apparently, Gina did not want to give her bag and was grappling with the robbers since the handle was left outside),” said Minda.
The assailant then shot Gina in the chest and abdomen before running to a motorcycle parked nearby.
Minda said fear stopped her from opening the gate after hearing the series of gunbursts. She said she heard Luisito shouting at the assailants: “Og kwarta raman gani inyo tuyu, ayaw nalang mi patya (if you are only after the money, don't kill us).”
When Minda finally opened the gate, she said Gina was down on one knee, clutching her wounds. She stared at Minda, her eyes begging for help as she could no longer talk.
Minda said she saw four masked men on two motorcycles speed away.
She embraced Gina and tried to help her stand while Luisito, in shock, kept looking for his wife: “Gina, where's Gina?”
Although wounded, Luisito drove the vehicle inside the house as their helper pushed it from behind.
A neighbor then brought the couple first to Carcar District Hospital. They were referred to the South General Hospital in Minglanilla where Gina was declared dead on arrival. Luisito was later transferred to a private hospital in Cebu City.
Neighbor Emma Dadong confirmed Minda’s account that two other men joined two assailants who were waiting for them on two motorcycles parked nearby.
“Nagduda gyud mi nga murag suhito tong mga tawhana sa lugar kay kada miyerkules ra biya gyud na sila mogamit ana nga gate (They seemed to know the area because the couple only used that gate every Wednesday),” said Minda.
Several empty shells of a .45 pistol and .9mm pistol were recovered at the scene.
The couple has four children. Two, aged 23 and 20, are nurses at the Barili District Hospital. They were in the living room watching television and waiting for their parents when they heard gunshots.
Their only son, 18, is studying at the University of San Jose Recoletos while the youngest, 16, is a senior high school student in barangay Pardo, Cebu City.
The children’s nanny of six years, Fe Canapid, said the two were so affected by their mother’s death, they didn’t want to go to school anymore.
Luisito Ponsica's political career started when he served as councilor in the 1990s during the administration of then Barili Mayor Tony Paras. He was later elected vice mayor when the mayor was Alquizola.
Neighbor Mely Empleo, 56 said they were sad that violence had happened to a couple who were “good people”. Even if Luisito was no longer in public office, she said they wouldn’t hesitate to approach him for help.
“Dali ra mi kahulam nilag kwarta. Matinabangon ug di jud matapobre, kon naa gani okasyon diha sa dakong balay, mga pobre gani ang imbitahon jud (It was easy to borrow money from them. They were helpful and wouldn't look down on us. If there were parties in the big house, the poor were invited,” she added.
