Maguindanao del Sur town councilor shot dead

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 18 Sept)—A town councilor of Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur was shot to death Tuesday afternoon by a lone gunman using a high-powered firearm while the victim was attending to his restaurant just in front of a district government hospital.

Policemen guard the restaurant owned by the late Councilor Mohammad Usman Alamada, of Buluan in Maguindanao del Sur, where he was shot dead. Photo courtesy of the Buluan Municipal Police Station

The victim was identified as Councilor Mohammad Usman Alamada. He died instantly despite the attempt to bring him to the hospital, according to Maj. Cemafranco Cemacio, the town police chief.

He said the incident took place around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

“Our initial investigation revealed that the suspect arrived with a driver and disembarked from a car, came closer to the victim who was doing his cashier work, then opened fire using an M-16 riffle,” Cemacio said in a phone interview.

Police are digging deeper on the investigation of whether the crime could be linked to politics, clan feud or land conflict.

“We learned that the victim had mentioned to his loved ones that he had received death threats in the past but it was not totally detailed yet,” Cemacio said.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which Maguindanao del Sur is part of, is still considered by the Commission on Elections as a hot spot area in the upcoming elections.

Filing of certificates of candidacies will start on October 1 to 8 next month. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)