PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has ordered a full-scale manhunt against the gunmen who killed a former beauty queen in Isabela and a director of an electric cooperative in Oriental Mindoro.
“Strong words of condemnation against these cowardly attacks are not enough. We will focus on identifying and arresting all those involved in these two killings in the interest of justice and the rule of law,” Nartatez said in a statement.
Former Miss Philippines-Earth runner up and now public school teacher Lullete Jane Ramilo-De Guzman was shot dead by an unidentified gunman while inside her car with her children in Barangay Cabaritan in San Manuel town, Isabela on Friday, February 13,2026.
She was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital while her kids were unharmed.
In Oriental Mindoro, Antonio Mendeja, a director of the Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, made a brief stop to check on his vehicle in Pinamalayan town when a gunman shot him.
Nartatez said he already directed the directors of Police Regional Offices 2 (Cagayan Valley) and 4B (Mimaropa) to look deeper into the two cases to determine the motive and subsequently lead to the identification and arrest of those responsible.
He also directed all police commanders to further intensify the conduct of crime prevention measures that include establishments of checkpoints, police visibility and strategic deployment of personnel under the Enhanced Managing Police Operation (Empo).
These measures, he said, must be complemented with aggressive operations against loose firearms and accounting for wanted persons, whom he said, are usually repeat law offenders.
Such crime prevention measures are among the best ways to deny criminal elements the opportunity to strike as they ensure immediate response and certainty of arrest.
Nartatez also urged anybody with relevant information on the two incidents to assist in the conduct of the investigation. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)