Google map of Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao.
COTABATO CITY – A village chair was shot dead by a gunman in Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao, police said Monday.
Town police chief Maj. Michael Ameril identified the victim as Norson Utto, village chairperson of Barangay Panadtaban in adjacent Rajah Buayan town.
Investigation showed that the victim was washing his motorbike at a roadside in Barangay Barurao of Sultan sa Barongis town at past 3 p.m. when two men arrived on a motorbike.
“One of them shot Utto without provocation,” Ameril said in a radio interview, adding that the village official died on the spot.
Ameril said he spoke with the victim’s wife, who said Utto was involved in a feud with another family in his village.
Police found empty shells for a .45-caliber pistol at the crime scene.
Photo: Google map of Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao
Also on Sunday, motorcycle-riding gunmen shot dead a motorcycle driver along the national highway in Barangay Margues, Datu Odin Sinsuat town of the province.
Lt. Col. Nelson Madiwo, town police chief, said the victim, Pilot Panambulan, 29, was driving a motorcycle with his father, Kilos Panambulan, 65, when the gunmen onboard a separate motorbike shot them.
“Miraculously, the father was unharmed,” Madiwo said.
Motive of the attack, police said, could be personal grudge or “rido” (clan war). (PNA)
