Raymund Villanueva's personal account of the Tugaya firefight (Raymund Villanueva, Kodao Productions' Director for Radio was assigned to cover news about the People's International Observers Mission in Lanao Del Sur. Watch video of the Tugaya firefight here.) I was caught in the middle of a gunfight that lasted hours in Tugaya, Lanao del Sur while covering the country’s first-ever automated elections. I don’t know if being ‘caught in the middle’ is a correct description because I was there as a journalist and had prior knowledge that that town is a poll hotspot. But I use it nonetheless because I did not want the gunfight to happen, much less witness it up close. It was an early start for us in the People’s International Observers’ Mission that had me as an imbedded journalist this election day. Our group was divided into three teams and our team was composed of Canadians Randall Garrison and Carol Crabtree, American Joyce Ann Mercer, Fr Joey Evangelista, Ipe Soco and I, as well as several local colleagues. We first visited Camalig Elementary School in Marantao town, which is right next to Lanao del Sur’s capital Marawi City. Polling centers were supposed to open at seven o’clock but voting has not started as of 7:30.... read more on www.kodao.org