Councilor shot dead in Maguindanao del Sur
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 29 May) – A councilor who was reelected in the May 12 elections was gunned down in Barangay Poblacion, Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur.
Thong Mamasalanao Asim, 56, who was a member of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
According to a report from the Datu Piang Municipal Police Station to the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), witnesses described the lone gunman as wearing black shorts, a black jacket, and glasses.
The unidentified assailant fled towards an unknown direction after the killing.
Investigators found seven bullet casings, believed to be from a .45 caliber firearm, and two deformed bullets at the crime scene.
Ustadz Hisham Nando, UBJP Maguindanao chief executive officer and the vice governor-elect of the province, and the party strongly condemned the killing.
The UBJP is the political party of the MILF.
Nando said the act was cowardly and has no place in society. He called for a deeper investigation and accountability for those responsible.
Police have yet to release a statement regarding the possible motive of the crime.
Meanwhile, Esmael Lindongan Manap, a barangay kagawad of Malingao, Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur and his son Arham, have returned home after being abducted at their residence.
A report from PRO-BAR spokesperson Lt. Col. Jopy Ventura said the abduction occurred at 6:00 p.m. on May 27.
Police said they received information that members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters led by Commander Malibuteng and of the MILF 118th Base Command led by Commander Mando were the suspects in the kidnapping.
According to the barangay chairman of Malingao, the victims were inside their house preparing for the evening prayer when armed men forcibly entered and snatched them.
Shariff Aguak vice mayor-elect Hadji Oping Ampatuan said the victims were returned on Wednesday by the armed group with the help of soldiers and police, as well as the local government and the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities.
The victims sustained bruises in their bodies and heads, reportedly from being beaten by their abductors.
A report released on May 13 by Louise Marie Lara, Climate Conflict Action Asia communications manager, said the group documented dozens of election-related incidents across the provinces of BARMM and its Special Geographic Areas.
They noted widespread coercion and disruptions in Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, and Sulu, which was excluded from the autonomous region in a decision handed down by the Supreme Court last year.
The Supreme Court said Sulu should not be included in BARMM since it voted “No” during the 2019 plebiscite on the law creating the region even if it was part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Retired colonel Dickson Hermoso, security consultant to the civil society-led Independent Election Monitoring Center, said they monitored incidents of intimidation and coercion, show of force by rival camps during the midterm elections. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera/MindaNews)
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