Is rido all right?
Revenge killings are commonplace among communities with large political disputes. (Photo: DW)
Ronaldo Yumol, the father of Ateneo shooting gunman Chao Tiao Yumol was killed on Friday morning in front of his home in Lamitan City, Basilan. Yumol reported being on the receiving end of threats after the Sunday shooting that killed former mayor Rosita Furigay, aide Victor Capistrano, and Ateneo security guard Jeneven Bandiala.
The older Yumol was a retired SPO4 policeman who was carrying a .45-caliber gun when he died at the hands of still unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle. Officers were deployed outside the residence to surveil and monitor the family, but Yumol left the house before the officers could arrive on Friday. The Philippine National Police and Quezon City Police Department are investigating whether or not the two killings are linked.
When revenge takes up arms
The Furigay family has denied any involvement in Ronaldo Yumol’s death.
Roderick Furigay, current Lamitan mayor and husband of Rosita, asked that investigations be conducted into the killing of Yumol to bring both families justice.
Kelsey, one of Rose and Roderick’s children, took to Instagram to post two statements clearing up speculation around the shooting. Kelsey posted documents clearing her mother of Chao Tiao Yumol’s drug accusations and a plea to “let our family mourn.” Kelsey also said she cried when she heard about Ronaldo’s death.
“We do not have it in our hearts to think of revenge because the pain is just too grave. Please, I am begging on my knees.. To the public as a daughter, as a sister, as a fellow Filipino citizen, no more lives shed and no more violence. Let my family mourn in peace,” Kelsey said.
But many people don’t want to rule out revenge as a factor in the death of Yumol, considering the local political power of the Furigays in Lamitan.
Rido, or clan killings, is a phenomenon that “involves a vendetta killing provoked by an affront or disgrace to the honor of a family or its members.” It is a revenge-driven act similar to the ancient belief of “an eye for an eye” from the Code of Hammurabi. Derived from the Maranaos, common motivations behind rido are land disputes or political conflicts between clans.
In an interview with DZMM, sociologist Dr. Gerald Abergos stated that it’s the PNP who can declare whether or not the Furigay and Yumol killings are rido.
Justice served?
Chao Tiao Yumol was a known supporter of the Duterte administration and had a community backing his actions. The killing of his father has fuelled further speculations of rido and possibly “ubusan ng lahi” or the killing of entire clans. When Maharlika, a popular pro-Duterte blogger, posted an interest check for those who wished to assist the family of Yumol, commenters were quick to say they sent her a message and called for justice for Chao Tiao and his family.
The comments section of the GMA News report of Muykim Yumol, Chao Tiao’s mother, appealing for protection after her husband’s death is a grim look at the response to the issue. Some people mocked her, saying that they should have seen it coming after her son killed three people. There were also comments like “Maybe you have to go on bended knees to [BBM]” and “This is the government stupid people deserve.”
Others sympathized with Muykim: “Sana hindi dinamay ang pamilya” and even called on the program of now-Senator Raffy Tulfo, Raffy Tulfo In Action, to be the ones to bring justice to the Yumols.
Many have traced the rise in vigilante justice and killings back to the Duterte administration. The bloody war on drugs, red-tagging activists, and threatening to shoot lawbreakers have bred a culture of impunity. It does not bode well for the Philippines if its citizens feel they cannot trust the law to work and must take matters into their own hands.
