Gunmen kill 3 village officials, hurt another in Mindanao gun attacks

 From Rappler (Apr 10, 2023): Gunmen kill 3 village officials, hurt another in Mindanao gun attacks (By ROMMEL REBOLLIDO)

The victims are not the first. Early this year, gunmen also killed a village chief during an ambush in Maguindanao del Norte

GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines – Daring daylight gun attacks have killed at least three village officials in three Mindanao provinces over the weekend, as Christians in these regions observed the culmination of the Holy Week while Muslims observed the final days of Ramadan.

The first victim was Danny Angkay, the barangay chairman of Salaman village in the coastal town of Lebak, Sultan Kudarat in the Soccsksargen region, who was shot dead in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao del Sur on Black Saturday, April 8.

Captain Guissepe Tamayo, police chief of Ampatuan town, said they were still looking into leads in the killing of Angkay, who was in the town to visit a relative.

Angkay, along with two companions, was traveling home to Lebak town in a mini-van when they were attacked by motorcycle-riding gunmen along a highway.

On Easter Sunday, Tonesa Sarudin, the barangay chairperson of the remote seaside village of Mindupok in Maitum town, Sarangani in the Soccsksargen region, was shot to the head by motorcycle-riding gunmen in front of the barangay hall of Mindupok.

Maitum police chief Major Bernard Francia said Sarudin was walking near the barangay hall when the gunmen approached and shot her, and then the killers quickly fled.

Sarudin was a barangay councilor herself before assuming the chairmanship of Mindupok, replacing the village chief Mohamad Akmad who was also killed in an ambush in September 2020.

According to the police, Sarudin had recently received death threats, and investigators were considering the possibility of a rido (clan feud) motive in her murder.

Also on Easter Sunday, Abdul Malik Uban, a barangay councilman of Polloc in Parang town, Maguindanao del Norte, was shot dead by gunmen. His wife Salma was wounded and was in critical condition.

The incident occurred along a road in Barangay Poblacion 2 in Parang, where the victims were traveling together in a car when the gunmen came and shot them.

CCTV footage showed two men with handguns approaching and shooting at the group in a red sedan that was running slow before running off.

In February, gunmen also attacked and killed the then Polloc barangay chairman Abobacar Abdul and his wife Baisa in an ambush. The couple died from multiple gunshots after gunmen sprayed their car with bullets in Barangay Sarmiento in the same town.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/mindanao/deaths-injuries-gun-attacks-april-8-9-2023/