BARMM condemns ambush of Maguindanao Sur headteacher

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 23, 2024): BARMM condemns ambush of Maguindanao Sur headteacher (By Edwin Fernandez)

AMBUSHED. Police conduct a post-crime investigation on the murder of a school headteacher along the highway in Barangay Manongkaling, Mamasapano, Maguindanao del Sur, on Monday (Jan. 22, 2024). The victim, identified as Mamadatu Dalandas, school head of Datu Tecson Elementary School in neighboring Sultan sa Barongis town, was driving his motorbike along the Manongkaling area when ambushed by motorcycle riding-in-tandem gunmen. (Photo from Mamasapano MPS)

MAMASAPANO, Maguindanao del Sur – The education ministry of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has condemned the latest attack against educators in the region and called on authorities to give justice to a fallen headteacher on Monday afternoon.

The latest victim, Mamadatu Dalandas, 39, school head of Datu Tecson Elementary School in adjacent Sultan sa Barongis town, was ambushed by still unidentified gunmen in Barangay Manongkaling in this town.

“We implore the authorities to swiftly and comprehensively investigate this heinous act, ensuring that justice prevails,” Mohagher Iqbal, head of the BARMM’s Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE), said in a statement on Tuesday.

Dalandas, a resident of Barangay Papakan, Sultan sa Barongis, was driving his motorbike around 1:30 p.m. when tailed and fired upon by motorcycle riding-in-tandem gunmen along the section of the highway in Manongkaling village.

Lt. Lou Christian Villoñes, municipal police chief, said the motive of the attack remained unknown as the investigation is still ongoing as of posting time.

Dalandas was the second headteacher in Sultan sa Barongis slain in a gun attack in the past three months, and the third in BARMM since May 2023.

On Nov. 15 last year, Hermielex Kapusan, 40, head teacher of Tukanakuden Elementary School in Barangay Tukanakuden in Sultan sa Barongis, was ambushed by two gunmen along the highway in Barangay Tinumigues, Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat town.

In the same year, Joel Reformado, 36, head teacher of Damalasak Elementary School was also shot dead on May 26 by motorcycle-riding gunmen. His fellow teacher, 37-year-old Elton John Lapinid, was injured.

The shooting occurred in front of the Manaulanan Elementary School in Pikit town of North Cotabato province.

“Acts of violence have no place in our educational institutions, and we stand resolute in our collective opposition to such brutal incidents,” Iqbal said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1217454