BAGUIO CITY — Investigators have yet to identify the suspects and determine the motive behind the killing of a pregnant teacher in Abra.
Maria Elaine Besas Valencia, 36, a resident of Barangay Pawa, Lagangilang, Abra, was shot dead while riding on the back of her husband’s motorcycle on Saturday night in Tayum, Abra.
Valencia, who was seven months pregnant, was attacked by riding-in-tandem suspects at around 8 p.m. on May 9, 2026, along the highway in Barangay Bumagcat, Tayum. She later died while undergoing treatment at a hospital.
According to police reports, the victim and her husband were heading to a bus station before the incident occurred. They were reportedly traveling in convoy with another motorcycle when the unidentified suspects, allegedly with their motorcycle lights turned off, approached from the left side and opened fire.
The husband told investigators that Valencia sustained gunshot wounds on the left side of her body. She was initially rushed to a hospital in Bangued, Abra, before being transferred to a medical facility in Bantay, Ilocos Sur, where she was declared dead.
Police recovered four spent bullet shells from a .45-caliber firearm at the scene of the crime.