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Hannah Furigay visits slain mom's wake

Anna Cerezo, ABS-CBN News

Nearly a week after the shooting incident in Ateneo de Manila University, the Furigay family has been reunited.After pleading her father and twin sister Kelsey to let her visit her mother’s wake, Hannah, who is still recuperating from gunshot injuries, was finally allowed by her doctor to briefly leave the hospital.“Yesterday was the very first time Hannah saw my mom’s body after the shooting she said it was second time she saw my mom after she held her in her arms that day,” Hannah’s twin sister Kelsey said.The family of four was last together when they had lunch, a few hours before Hannah Furigay was suppose to graduate from Ateneo Law school last Sunday.“Plano kasi namin sabay kami sa car. But because of her excitement they went ahead of me,” Mayor Roderick Furigay recalled.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/26/22/basilan-to-declare-state-of-mourning-for-slain-ex-mayor-aide">Basilan to declare state of mourning for slain ex-mayor, aide</a></li></ul>“Iniwan ako sa restaurant while nasa toilet ako. Pag labas ko sabi you take the other car na lang then we will wait for you sa Ateneo. Tas sumunod kami….Nakita na lang namin nagtakbuhan parents at mga bata so kami rin bakit scampering,” he shared.Kelsey told ABS-CBN News that Hannah was holding Rose as she took her final breaths after the two were shot multiple times by Chao-Tiao Yumol.“My mom, my mom, she kept screaming for our mom because she knew she was critically hit. She was not even thinking of herself,” she tearfully explained on behalf of Hannah.The short visit marked the last time Hannah will see her mother as she is unable to fly to Lamitan with her father to bury the late former mayor.Kelsey said Hannah had been her pillar the past few days.“We are twin sisters. We feel so much. Understand each other so much,” the sister confessed.“She is in so much pain but she is so strong. She even holds my hand, I should be the one holding her hand,” Kelsey sobbed.Upon Hannah’s arrival, the Furigay family closed the chapel doors.According to them, they wanted to keep their very last moments together away from the public’s eyes.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/27/22/driver-after-furigay-shooting-cant-eat-cant-sleep">Family driver recalls Ateneo shooting that killed Furigay</a></li></ul>“We cried together. We were finally able to grieve together as a family,” she cried “[Our family] We are all we have. We are keeping it together.”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Kelsey also shared Hannah saw Rose Furigay yesterday for the first time since she held her dying mom in her arms last Sunday. According to her, they wanted to keep their final moments together as a family away from the public eye. | via <a href="https://twitter.com/annacerezo_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@annacerezo_</a> <a href="https://t.co/c3SeuFKuig">pic.twitter.com/c3SeuFKuig</a>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1553340616125190144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2022</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>In the letter Kelsey penned, she said that Rose was “their world” and the last few days had been “extraordinarily painful.”“It was not only her life that was taken away, but all of ours,” she wrote.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">READ: Kelsey Furigay, daughter of ex-Lamitan Mayor Rose Furigay, shared an open letter for the public Says death threats,“disinformation on social media, fake news peddlers, and the pushy media personnel,” have made it harder for them to grieve. | via <a href="https://twitter.com/annacerezo_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@annacerezo_</a> <a href="https://t.co/GixWRc295h">pic.twitter.com/GixWRc295h</a>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1553323315879559168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2022</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Although her mother dedicated most of her hours to her her duties as the mayor of Lamitan from 2013-2022, Kelsey said she was always there for her children.“She called all of us almost-if not-everyday to make sure we were healthy, happy and safe,” she penned.Wanting to devote more time to her twins, however, Kelsey shared that Rose decided to retire from her political career.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/30/22/chao-tiao-yumol-inilipat-na-sa-bjmp-custodial-facility">Chao Tiao Yumol, suspek sa Ateneo shooting, inilipat na sa BJMP Custodial Facility</a></li></ul>“She was so emotional and turned to me. She said &#x27;I can finally rest. I can finally be a mom.&#x27; It hurts so much because she never had a real chance to do that... it wasn&#x27;t even 1 month,” the Furigay daughter said.Grief, however, is not the only obstacle the Furigay family have to face.“We are working really hard to clear my mom’s name, our family name,” she sighed.The shooting incident which took three lives catapulted the Furigay family into national spotlight, subjecting them to public scrutiny.Apart from Yumol’s claims that the couple are involved in illegal drug trade, some netizens linked Furigays to the death of the former’s father, Roland Yumol.Kelsey, herself, however, refuted the claims.“I want the public to do full research. Check the documents, check the permits. Don’t judge everything you see online right away,” she admonished.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Kelsey Furigay urged the public to &#x27;discern carefully&#x27; the information they read &amp; share. “I want the public to do their full research and not to take everything at face value.” | via <a href="https://twitter.com/annacerezo_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@annacerezo_</a> <a href="https://t.co/cILyRFXsDd">pic.twitter.com/cILyRFXsDd</a>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1553333667136557057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2022</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>She added: “There is more to the story than just one side. We have all the documents to disprove to you that we are involved in drugs or the shooting.&quot;In the letter Kelsey shared to ABS-CBN News, she also attached permits and certifications that support her defense.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/29/22/father-of-chao-tiao-yumol-killed-basilan">Father of gunman in Ateneo shooting shot dead in Basilan</a></li></ul>Kelsey implied that Yumol’s motive was personal and stemmed from the closure of his clinic.Among the documents she showed was the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao&#x27;s (BARMM) Cease and Desist Order dated April 5, 2019.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Kelsey Furigay explained that Yumol&#x27;s clinic was shut down by the government of Lamitan because Yumol did not have a license to operate. Thus, it was necessary for ex-mayor Rose Furigay to issue a cease and desist. | via <a href="https://twitter.com/annacerezo_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@annacerezo_</a> <a href="https://t.co/PSBkHxRYk0">pic.twitter.com/PSBkHxRYk0</a>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1553331071109844992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2022</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>“He was given until May 3, 2019 to comply. Four licensing officers of the Regulations, Licensing Enforcement Cluster of BARMM&#x27;s Ministry of Health signed the order. In other words, the Furigays were not yet in the picture,” she reasoned.Kelsey continued: “Because he still failed to comply, the BARMM Minister of Health Dr. Saffrullah M. Dipatuan wrote a letter dated sometime July 2019 to Mayor Rosita Furigay requesting her to serve the Cease and Desist Order.”Meanwhile, Quirino G Esguerra Jr., the legal counsel of the Furigay family insisted that linking the family to the death of Yumol’s father, is “unfair.”“Remember the Furigays are still in grief due to the untimely demise of the mother and the daughter is recuperating in the hospital,” Esguerra reprimanded.Kelsey likewise echoed their lawyer&#x27;s statement.“We do not feel justice. We only feel pain and grief for all of these killings. Once the perpetrator will be found, we will also help bring justice... The truth will always prevail,” she lamented.&quot;Please, we are in mourning. We do not have it in our hearts to think of revenge because the pain is just too grave.”Esguerra also added that the Furigay couple relies on the court to give them justice.“During the times their rights were violated they resorted to legal process. They filed necessary cases. There is no reason for them to do another act while they are in grief,” the lawyer said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/07/27/22/labi-ng-ateneo-security-guard-ibinurol-sa-quezon-city">Labi ng napatay na Ateneo security guard ibinurol sa QC</a></li></ul>Apart from the 3 counts of murder, frustrated murder, carnapping, and malicious mischief complaints, Yumol is also facing more than 60 cyberlibel complaints.Yumol was turned over to the BJMP custodial facility in Payatas and is slated to undergo arraignment next week.The murder of the suspect’s father has had netizens talking about the possibility of it being part of “rido” or “clan war”.Sociology expert Gerald Abergos, however, warned the public that it is dangerous to make such speculations.“The institution who can answer that is the PNP, whatever they investigate on. Antayin natin results. Di natin kaya as individual persons. Antayin natin,” he emphasized in an interview with Teleradyo.“Wag natin gawin trend and issue. Wag gatungan. Ang pinag-uusapan natin ay pamilya, mga anak at magulang at kaibigan. Siguro magkaroon tayo ng paggalang. Wag na po sana pribado pag-usapan,” he added.In a brief press conference, DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos urged the Lamitenios to come forward if they have any information that may lead to the resolution of the killing of Rolando Yumol.He urged the public not to take the law into their own hands.&quot;There will be justice. Magtulungan tayo. Kung may info po kayo, wag matakot.&quot;Basilan PNP Provincial Director Police Col. Pedro Martirez Jr., meanwhile reported that they are not discounting the possibility of a third party trying to muddle the situation.However, he admitted that they are facing a blank wall in the investigation since the Yumol family is uncooperative and there is no one from the family left for them to talk to.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/07/26/22/pamamaril-sa-ateneo-case-closed-na-pnp">Pamamaril sa Ateneo &#x27;case closed&#x27; na: PNP</a></li></ul>The Furigay matriarch will be brought to their home in Lamitan City in Basilan on Sunday.“We just waited for Hannah. She said after she sees her mom, okay na,” Roderick Furigay said.The wake but will be open to the public who are likewise longing to say their goodbye to the late former mayor.“The people of Lamitan are waiting for my mom, they want to get my mom back after we finish here,” Kelsey said.In preparation of her arrival, the Lamitan LGU tied black ribbons and placed black banners along the roads to express their grief.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="twitter image" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/07/30/20220730-black-ribbons-lamitan-basilan.jpg"/></figure></div>Although Yumol is behind bars, the Furigay family said justice is not yet in sight as they will still have to face the gunman in court.But for now, the only focus of the Furigay family is to peacefully bring their matriarch home.“We ask for your kindness and your consideration,” Kelsey pleaded.“All I’m asking is for everyone to support us. We need so much strength,” she added.

Nearly a week after the shooting incident in Ateneo de Manila University, the Furigay family has been reunited.

Hannah Furigay visits slain mom's wake

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Hannah Furigay visits slain mom's wake

Anna Cerezo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 31, 2022 12:37 AM PHT

Read More:

Ateneo Shooting

Furigay

Lamitan

Basilan

Quezon City

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