MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte has joined in the condemnation of an ambush on a government doctor who was shot by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Maguindanao del Sur earlier this month.

Duterte said the ambush on Dr. Sharmaine Barroquillo is among the incidents that show the state of peace and order in the Philippines as she urged authorities to resolve the case quickly.

“Walang sinuman sa atin, lalo na ang mga responsableng mamamayan at kawani ng pamahalaan na katulad ni Dr. Barroquillo na tunay naglilingkod sa mga Pilipino, ang dapat na dumanas ng karahasan sa kamay ng mga kriminal,” she said.

(None of us — especially not responsible citizens and government employees like Dr. Barroquillo who truly serve the nation — should experience violence at the hands of criminals.)

“Tandaan natin na sa peace and order nakasandal ang ating kalayaan at ang kaunlaran ng ating bansa,” she also said. (Let us remember that our freedom and our development as a nation depend on peace and order.)

DOH chief, healthcare workers condemn Maguindanao del Sur ambush on doctor

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa earlier this week condemned the ambush on Barroquillo, a doctor at the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Hospital.

“Kulang na nga tayo ng health workers — naga-abroad sila [papunta] sa ibang bansa — tapos dito papatayin. We abhor this kind of behavior,” he said.

(We already have a shortage of health workers — they go to work in other countries — and then, they get killed here.)

Barroquillo’s fellow health workers in Davao City have also condemned the shooting, with the Metropolitan Davao Medical Society Inc. saying it condemns violence against doctors "who only wanted to help the Filipino people get healed from their ailments and diseases."

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III also denounced the attack, warning authorities that failure to resolve the case and apprehend perpetrators could further discourage healthcare workers from serving in the country, especially in the provinces.