By ELDIE S. AGUIRRE
DIGOS CITY — Two unidentified men sneaked into the provincial hospital on Lapulapu St., this city, and fired shots at the ceiling, walls and floor, prompting patients and hospital personnel to scamper for safety.
Investigators said the intruders barged in the building at about 8 p.m. last Monday, passing by five civil security officers stationed at the front door and strategic areas in the hospital.
While the people who were inside were crawling on the floor and shivering for fear they might be hit, the attackers withdrew from the scene even as they continued firing their guns.
Elements of the Digos police were immediately dispatched to the hospital but the intruders were already gone.
Integrated Provincial Health Officer Mahelinde Colminares said she could not establish the motive of the attack but did not discount the possibilities that the attackers were people who might be disgruntled by the services of the hospital.
She recalled that last week, a patient was brought to the hospital and the individuals who accompanied him had engaged the attending physicians in a verbal tussle.
"Although we could not ascertain if it has something to do with the incident, we could not deny that there are people who were not pleased by our services, especially when it comes to the provision of medicines," Colminares said.
She also said the provincial hospital has a weak security system, noting the scores of untoward incidents that occurred in the past.
A few years ago, a survivor of an apparent summary execution was killed in the hospital by still unidentified persons who barged in the hospital.
Davao del Sur OIC-PNP director Supt. Ernesto Velasco sent a police team to augment the security personnel of the hospital.
"We assured the people of Davao del Sur that the incident could not be repeated and we would do our best to solve this crime and bring the culprits to jail," Velasco said.
Meanwhile, fearing that the armed men may return to the hospital, doctors are contemplating to file a mass leave of absence until the identities of the attackers are known.
Colminares appealed to the doctors not to pushed through with their plan, saying the lives of the poor residents of the province and neighboring places would be jeopardized.
