TORCHED. The red Isuzu pick-up vehicle (left) of slain councilor Norodin Ambel of Barangay Kilada, Matalam, North Cotabato believed to have been torched (inset) by the same gunmen who ambushed him on Wednesday night (April 29, 2020). Government forces are now securing the village of neighboring Barangay Marbel where the ambush took place in anticipation of a possible escalation of hostilities. (Photos courtesy of Williamor Magbanua – DXND Kidapawan)
Gunmen, believed to be behind Wednesday’s ambush-slay of a village councilor in Matalam, North Cotabato, torched the victim’s vehicle left behind by the roadside the following day.
Capt. Junrel Amotan, Matalam police chief, said Friday that investigation is still ongoing as to the identities of the assailants behind the burning of the victim's vehicle.
“We are looking into a long-drawn clan war as a motive behind the ambush and subsequent torching of the vehicle,” he said.
Amotan said the red Isuzu pick-up truck where slain Barangay Kilada, Matalam councilor Norodin Ambel was riding on with relatives and village co-workers, was burned before noon Thursday.
The ambush also injured chairperson Rowena De Leon of Barangay Kilada who was on the front seat of the vehicle.
Driver Sulayman Ambel, together with four other passengers, escaped unhurt.
The bullet-riddled vehicle was left by the roadside in Barangay Marbel, also in Matalam, where the ambush took place on Wednesday night.
Norodin was the deputy chief of the Moro National Liberation Front -Sebangan Kutawato State Revolutionary Committee which is headed by his father, Dima Ambel as chairman.
The victims were on their way home after a “buka” (breaking of the fast) on Wednesday night when about six gunmen, allegedly led by a certain Naig Naga, a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), opened fire at them along the road in Barangay Marbel.
Police said during the ambush, the pick-up truck fell from the concrete pavement and hit a tree. Locals said the Ambels and the Nagas are locked in a long-standing quarrel triggered by land disputes.
“Our theory is most likely, the arsonists were also the ambushers,” a police investigator told reporters.
To date, the local government of Matalam is attending to the needs of some 200 persons who fled their homes from two sub-villages of Barangay Marbel for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. They are now housed at the village covered court.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101563
Capt. Junrel Amotan, Matalam police chief, said Friday that investigation is still ongoing as to the identities of the assailants behind the burning of the victim's vehicle.
“We are looking into a long-drawn clan war as a motive behind the ambush and subsequent torching of the vehicle,” he said.
Amotan said the red Isuzu pick-up truck where slain Barangay Kilada, Matalam councilor Norodin Ambel was riding on with relatives and village co-workers, was burned before noon Thursday.
The ambush also injured chairperson Rowena De Leon of Barangay Kilada who was on the front seat of the vehicle.
Driver Sulayman Ambel, together with four other passengers, escaped unhurt.
The bullet-riddled vehicle was left by the roadside in Barangay Marbel, also in Matalam, where the ambush took place on Wednesday night.
Norodin was the deputy chief of the Moro National Liberation Front -Sebangan Kutawato State Revolutionary Committee which is headed by his father, Dima Ambel as chairman.
The victims were on their way home after a “buka” (breaking of the fast) on Wednesday night when about six gunmen, allegedly led by a certain Naig Naga, a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), opened fire at them along the road in Barangay Marbel.
Police said during the ambush, the pick-up truck fell from the concrete pavement and hit a tree. Locals said the Ambels and the Nagas are locked in a long-standing quarrel triggered by land disputes.
“Our theory is most likely, the arsonists were also the ambushers,” a police investigator told reporters.
To date, the local government of Matalam is attending to the needs of some 200 persons who fled their homes from two sub-villages of Barangay Marbel for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. They are now housed at the village covered court.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101563
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