Manhunt on vs. gunmen in murder of off-duty soldier

COTABATO CITY -- Police and military authorities have launched a manhunt for two men on board a motorbike, who shot dead an off-duty soldier in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao Thursday.

Citing a report from the Sultan Kudarat municipal police, Col. Ronald Briones, Maguindanao police director, identified the slain soldier as Private Ellemar Bayquin, 25, of Sitio Tenorio, Barangay Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.

“The Sultan Kudarat police and the Army’s 37th Infantry Battalion have joined forces in hunting down the murderers,” Briones said.

Bayquin, a member of the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion, was on his way to Pikit, North Cotabato - where his unit is located - when he was ambushed by the riding-in-tandem gunmen in Barangay Rebuken, Sultan Kudarat at about 5 p.m.

The suspect was unarmed and donning civilian clothes at the time of the incident. His relatives said he has no known enemy. (PNA)